The Crossroads at Jay

Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" is a folk taxonomy, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities; they are small to medium-sized, usually have brightly coloured feathers and short tails, and are quite noisy. These superficial characteristics set them apart from most other corvids such as crows, ravens, jackdaws, rooks and magpies, which are mostly larger, or longer-tailed, and have darker plumage. Many so-called "jays" are genetically closer to these other corvids than to other jays, however. The name 'jay' is probably onomatopoeic, based on the raspy call of the species originally so named, Garrulus glandarius.