A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian magpie seems more closely related to the Eurasian jay than to the East Asian blue and green magpies, whereas the blue jay is not closely related to either. The Eurasian jay distributes oak acorns, contributing to the growth of oak woodlands over time.
Jay
Image: Peanut Thief (7184679351)
Image: Turkestan Ground Jay
Image: Ptilostomus afer Maroua
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 135 species are included in this family. The genus Corvus containing 47 species makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids (ravens) are the largest passerines.
Corvidae
Crested jayshrikes were thought to be in this family, but may be a type of helmetshrike instead.
Skeleton of American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) on display at the Museum of Osteology.
Corvids are highly opportunistic foragers. Here, a jungle crow feeds on a shark carcass.
