the green jay (cyanocorax yncas) is a bird species of the new world jays , and is found in both north and south america .
adults are about 27 cm (11 in) long and variable in colour across their range; they usually have blue and black heads , green wings and mantle , bluish-green tails , black bills , yellow or brown eye rings , and dark legs .
the basic diet consists of arthropods , vertebrates , seeds , and fruit .
the nest is usually built in a thorny bush; the female incubates the clutch of three to five eggs .
this is a common species of jay with a wide range and the international union for conservation of nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern" .
green jays are 2529 cm (9.811.4 in) in length .
weight ranges from 66 to 110 grams (2.3 to 3.9 oz) .
they have feathers of yellowish-white with blue tips on the top of the head , cheeks and nape , though some taxa have more blue than others .
the breast and underparts range from bright yellow in the south to pale green in the north (e .
g .
, texas) .
the upper parts are rich green .
it has large nasal bristles that form a distinct tuft in some subspecies , but are less developed in others .
the color of the iris ranges from dark brownish to bright yellow depending on the subspecies .
usually lumped with inca jay (c .
yncas yncas) of south america .
somewhat confusing in classification , the green jay is then used as the species name , even though the inca jay is the nominate subspecies .
some authorities split the two species with the inca jay retaining the binomial c .
yncas and the green jay adopting c .
luxuosus .
green jays feed on a wide range of insects and other invertebrates and various cereal grains .
they take ebony (ebenopsis spp .
) seeds where these occur , and also any oak species' acorns , which they will cache .
meat and human scraps add to the diet when opportunity arises .
green jays have been observed using sticks as tools to extract insects from tree bark .
green jays usually build a nest in a tree or in a thorny bush or thicket , and the female lays three to five eggs .
only the female incubates , but both parents take care of the young .
in colombia , the green jay is recorded as retaining offspring for several years , and those young help the parents raise more chicks .
as with most of the typical jays , this species has a very extensive voice repertoire .
the bird's most common call makes a rassh-rassh-rassh sound , but many other unusual notes also occur .
one of the most distinctive calls sounds like an alarm bell .
he green jay group occurs from southern texas to honduras .
the inca jay subspecies then have a disjunct home range in the northern andes in south america .
