Where Are Green Jays Found? And How To Attract Them To Your Yard

You've more than likely heard of the blue jay, but are you familiar with its relative, the green jay? This member of the corvid family is a tropical bird featuring a bright green body and blue-and-black head. Unlike other jays that can be spotted throughout North America, green jays only visit the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. However, scientists are tracking this bird as far north as San Antonio as its range expands due to climate change. This shifting range has resulted in sightings of grue jays, a rare hybrid of blue and green jays. While grue jays are extremelye rare, there are methods to get a glimpse of the green jay in your own backyard if you provide food, shelter, and water.

Before we dive into how to attract this bird to your yard, let's discuss how to identify it. As a tropical bird, it's hard to miss the green jay's bright plumage. It's around the size of a typical crow and features broad, rounded wings. It has a variety of unique calls from harsh shrieks to elongated rattling. Just like most jays, it can mimic the calls of other birds, too. In Texas, green jays prefer dense woodlands and lowlands but they also frequent local fruit orchards. Given the right conditions, they might visit your yard, too.

If you're near coastal Texas and want to see a green jay up close and personal, you'll need to make your yard as inviting as possible. Start by providing the kind of food they like. Green jays will come to feeders for hard seeds and nuts. They also feast on a variety of insects such as grasshoppers and wasps, so consider planting trap crop borders that might attract them. Green jays also love berries so berryscaping your yard to attract birds could be beneficial as well.

Birds generally choose to visit your yard if you also provide water and shelter. Create a bird sanctuary with running water, native plants, and variable habitat layers. Green jays prefer to nest in dense shrubs and trees, so consider planting plenty in your backyard. Do your part by foregoing too much raking to provide ample nesting materials . Since this bird tends to travel in groups, if you attract a pair, they might just bring back the rest of their crew. With proper food, water, and shelter opportunities, you might just attract green jays to your backyard.