Pinyon Jay

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Lives in flocks of hundreds, all-blue and loud.

Population: roughly 500,000-999,999 mature individuals per IUCN (2020 assessment); Partners in Flight (2019) estimate ~770,000 total population; declining ~3.4%/year, with an estimated 84% cumulative population loss over the past ~50 years
Habitat: Pinyon-juniper woodlands, sagebrush, chaparral, scrub-oak woodlands, and ponderosa pine forests, typically at elevations of roughly 4,000-8,500 ft (1,200-2,600 m), occasionally to 11,500 ft (3,500 m); year-round resident of its habitat
Fun fact: The Pinyon Jay forms a close mutualistic relationship with pinyon pines, caching tens of thousands of seeds each year and acting as the tree's primary seed disperser.
Range: Western and southwestern United States, from central Oregon to northern Baja California, east to western Oklahoma, and into northern Mexico; largely year-round resident, though flocks wander irregularly outside this range in years of poor pine seed crops
Diet: Omnivore with a strong preference for pinyon pine seeds (its staple food, cached by the tens of thousands each year), plus ponderosa pine seeds, acorns, juniper berries and other wild berries, insects (caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, ants), spiders, occasionally small vertebrates (lizards, snakes, nestling birds, small mammals), and cultivated grains/feeder foods (sunflower seeds, suet, cracked corn, peanuts) in winter
Size: 0.29 m
Wingspan: 0.46 m
Lifespan: 14 years

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