Pinyon Jay

Pinyon Jay

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

  • ORDER: Passeriformes
  • FAMILY: Corvidae

This picture was taken after a major snowstorm on January 6, 2017. We haven’t seen any Pinyon Jays so far in 2019. All this year’s Jays so far (Feb-Apr) have been Woodhouse Scrub Jays.

I love their coloring, all blue but different shades. Their beaks are quite long actually. They’re holding their feathers in such a way as to trap heat next to their bodies. They wouldn’t normally be this fluffy.

We saw Pinyon Jays for the first time at the Melby Ranch in July 2008, which was Bonnie’s first time on the Mesa.

Fly back to the Birds