Howdy, friends.  This week we are talking about the Inca jay, a close relative of the green jay we talked about a couple of weeks ago.  Although they look similar, recent studies have shown sufficient differences on a genetic level to justify treating the birds as two distinct species.  Inca jays live around 1,500 km (900 miles) from the range of the green jay and have differences, per a source I will link to below, “in plumage, habitat preferences, social behavior and vocalizations.”

The Inca jay lives in south America, in narrow strips of Andes montane forest from Colombia and Venezuela down through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.   It prefers damp areas, either in the mountains or in lowlands, and is comfortable and assertive around people, hoping for some food.  Like their green relatives, these birds build nests in thorny bushes or dense thickets.  Inca jays are monogamous, and mate for life.  Only the female incubates the eggs, but both parents will cooperate to raise the young.  Like green jays, they stick to family groups when raising young, including both parents and help from yearling birds from the last batch that have not yet split off.   The jays forage in loose groups and often keep in touch with loud vocalizations.  Which reminds me, the title from this week’s header comes from the fact that in Spanish the bird is often called querrequerre, which sounds like its call.  Inca jays have a varied diet, eating arthropods, small vertebrates, fruit and seeds.  Like the green jay, I am assuming it catches some flying critters on the wing.  

Our good buddies at the BirdLife DataZone group the green and Inca jays together, so we’ve got another IUCN risk assessment of “least concern” due to its large range and presumed large population which is thought to be growing.  

Have a good weekend, everyone.  Remember, rest is not a reward.

Links: https://tinyurl.com/mwk4sebj, https://tinyurl.com/bdcm2xy6, https://tinyurl.com/4cwkssx7, https://tinyurl.com/mpjbmfxu, https://tinyurl.com/ydcb9h46, https://tinyurl.com/2eazm9e6, https://tinyurl.com/mpsvsfn8