Brown Jays

A Brown Jay is a fun bird to see while bird watching. Below are some tips to help you identify Brown Jays. We have also put together a list of fun Brown Jay t-shirts, Brown Jaybird patches, birdhouses, bird feeders, binoculars, stickers, and other fun bird-watching items.

About Brown Jays

Brown Jays are large, crestless jays that are descendants of the crow and jay family. They are found in Mexico, Central America, Southern Texas, and the Rio Grande.

Description and Identification

Brown Jay’s are classified into two based on their looks and appearance, namely Northern Birds, and
Southern Birds. The Northern birds are almost completely dark brown in color and a slightly lighter
brown shade on the underparts. The Southern birds on the other hand have white bellies and
striking white tips to the outer tail feathers. On average, Brown Jay’s are about 15 inches. Both the
male and female Jay’s have stark back bills, legs as well as feet. The young ones have bare yellow
patches and prominent yellow eye-rings. They have a loud yet low-pitched screech and can change
based on mood and reason for the call.

Brown Jay Appearance

The crestless birds have dark brown upperparts and pale brown underparts. The lighter brown underparts fade out to a pearl whitetail with a pure white tail tip. The head appears much darker than the rest of the body and has a thick, black bill. This look applies to both the male and the female of the species.

The juveniles are also similar in appearance but have ruffled feathers and a yellow bill.

Brown Jay Feeding

Brown Jay’s are omnivores. These birds usually search for food in flocks, so they cover a large land
area covered with shrubs, trees and even hop about actively on the top of trees to search for their
prey. Their diet is indiscriminate, it includes, lizards, nectar, berries, fruits, insects, and a wide range
of insects. They even consume rodents, spiders, toads, smaller birds, etc. Their bill serves them while
crushing open hard nuts and peck on seeds.

Brown jays are omnivorous. They forage in shrubs, on the ground, and in trees, where they feed on a variety of seeds, fruits, nuts, vertebrates, berries, and insects.

Brown Jay Habitat

Commonly found in the dense riverside woods. They favor the comparatively tall, dense, thick, and
native woodlands of Rio Grande, Texas. They are also spotted in regions of Mexico and Central
America where they live in a variety of woodland habitats, especially near huge clearings, open
woodlands, and forest areas. These species prefer living in lightly forested areas or disturbed and
rugged forest patches with waste shrubbery spread across the forest area. They tend to dislike
extremely dense and cluttered areas of forest and are therefore found in open woodlands.

They reside in dense and tall woods, such as those of the Rio Grande in southern Texas. They also live in woodlands, around clearings and forest edges.

Range and Migration

Brown Jays are usually spotted in Tamaulipas as well as Nuevo Leon in the North-Eastern parts of
Mexico. Their sightings have also been done in the Panama region along the Gulf Caribbean Slope.
There is a possibility of seeing them in areas between Mexico and the Panama Region. The preferred
elevation is about 1500 m. In the central parts of the USA, Nicaragua, Honda, Belize, and Costa Rica
are places to look for them. Costa Rica is the country they are most abundantly found in and spread
out.

Brown Jay Life and Behavior

They are solitary birds that show open hostility to anyone that invades their privacy, during the breeding season, the males put on a show in an attempt to court the females. If accepted, the male then mates with the female and soon after leaves the nest.

The females then build nests high in trees, at a height of 23 to70 feet above the ground. The female builds the nests with materials such as twigs and some other vegetation. She lays 1 to 8 blue-gray eggs with brown markings per season. The female is the sole incubator of the eggs and she does this for 18 to 20 days. After the incubation, the eggs hatch, and the younglings come out.

The Brown Jays are non-migratory birds and can live in the same area for their whole lifetime, provided their nesting grounds remain undisturbed.

Brown Jay Nesting

Each flock of the Brown Jay has only one nest. As the nest is shared, all the females of the flock tend
to lay their eggs in just one nest. All the fully grown birds of the flock contribute to the feeding and
taking care of the juveniles.    Brown Jay’s like to build their nest in either a tree or a shrub. So the
height preference ranges from 15-20 inches above the ground or lower branches of trees. The nest
may be built by either one pair and then considered home for the entire flock, or built unanimously
by all the members of the flock. Their nest resembles a bulky cup made up of twigs and sticks, they
are lined with bark fibers of the trees they live on, weeds, and other pliable material.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Brown Jays

The most common types of bird-watching binoculars for viewing Brown Jays are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Brown Jay T-shirts

If you love the Brown Jay you should purchase a Bird Watching Academy & Camp T-shirt. To help support bird conservation we donate 10 percent to bird conservation activities.

Brown Jay Iron On Patches

Kids, Youth, and Adults love to collect our Bird Watching Academy & Camp iron-on patches. Our bird-watching patches help you keep track of the birds you have seen and identified. You can also display the patches on our Bird Watching Academy & Camp banners.

The Brown Jay is a great iron-on patch to start your collection with. The patches are durable and can be sewn on or ironed on to just about anything.

Brown Jay Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Brown Jay. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders for Brown Jay

There are many types of bird feeders. Here are our favorite bird feeders for your backyard. We use all of these bird feeders currently. Kids will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. Using this collection of bird feeders will provide a wide variety and many types of birds.

Best Bird Houses for Brown Jay

There are many types of birdhouses. Building a birdhouse is always fun but can be frustrating. These 4 birdhouses have become our favorites. Getting a birdhouse for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. We spent a little extra money on these birdhouses but they have been worth the higher price and look great.