Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus 1758)

Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Cyanocitta cristata (Blue Jay) is a species of birds in the family Corvidae. They are native to The Nearctic. They visit flowers of Black Birch, yellow buckeye, Cockspur Hawthorn, and American sycamore. They are diurnal omnivores. They have parental care (female provides care, occasionally breeds cooperatively, and paternal care). They rely on flight to move around.

URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q164509
Definition: organism consuming a variety of foods, usually including both plants and animals

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q906470
Definition: animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of inactivity at night.

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/occasionalCooperativeBreeding
Definition: The species has been known to breed cooperatively, with nonparents providing care.
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/paternalCare

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/NBO_0000367
Definition: self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through the air, usually by means of active wing movement

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EOL has data for 46 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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arthropods
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1360
- Definition: phylum of animals
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foraging habitat
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/ForagingHabitat
- Definition: Primary habitat where the species forages during the breeding season.
- Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109
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terrestrial
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000446
- Definition: A biome that applies to the terrestrial realm.
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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Canada
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q16
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litters per year
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/LittersPerYear
- Definition: Number of litters per female per year
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1 /year
mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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monogamous
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ECOCORE_00000063
- Definition: One male and one female have an exclusive mating relationship
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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The Nearctic
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
- Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
- Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg
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population trend
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/population_trend
- Definition: i.e., increasing, decreasing, stable, or unknown
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Stable
prenatal development duration
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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17 days
social system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/SocialSystem
- Definition: Description of the relationships among individuals within a population of organisms, including reproductive relationships (mating system), relationships within each sex, adult – young interactions, helpers and cooperation (group living).
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group living
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/socialGroupLiving
- Definition: where individuals of the same species (conspecifics), maintain spatial proximity with one another over time with mechanisms of social attraction
- Attribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_living
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trophic guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/TrophicGuild
- Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
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omnivore
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q164509
- Definition: organism consuming a variety of foods, usually including both plants and animals
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Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Blue Jay. View this species on GBIF

Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Blue Jay includes 4 children: