Remarkable Rare Blue-and-Green Hybrid Jay Discovered in Texas: A Fascinating Offspring of 7 Million-Year-Old Lineage!

For the first time, scientists have spotted a wild hybrid between a blue jay and a green jay near San Antonio, Texas. This exciting finding, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution on September 10, shows how climate change is impacting wildlife.

Brian Stokes, an ecologist at the University of Texas at Austin, shared insights about this unique bird. He believes it’s the first vertebrate hybrid resulting from two species expanding their ranges due to climate shifts.

Blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) and green jays (Cyanocorax yncas) belong to the corvid family, which also includes crows and ravens. Though their names are similar, they’re not closely related. Their paths diverged about 7 million years ago. Historically, green jays thrived in warm areas of Mexico and Central America, while blue jays roamed the eastern U.S. However, warming temperatures are pushing green jays north, while blue jays expand westward, creating overlap in their habitats.

Stokes discovered the hybrid through social media when a local birdwatcher shared a photo of it from her backyard. Intrigued, he visited her home to observe the bird over two days. Initially, it was evasive, but luck was on their side the next day.

With a mist net—a nearly invisible mesh—Stokes was able to catch the bird. Its plumage was blue, with facial markings resembling those of green jays, and it produced calls from both species. After taking a blood sample and tagging it for future identification, Stokes released the bird back into the wild.

Genetic tests confirmed it was likely the offspring of a female green jay and a male blue jay. This wild hybrid is notable as past instances of hybridization between these species occurred only in captivity during the 1970s. Interestingly, the appearance of this wild hybrid matched that of a taxidermied captive-bred specimen housed at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

Despite being the first documented hybrid sighting, the jay was already over a year old when Stokes tagged it. Since then, it has not been seen again, although it returned to the same backyard in June 2025. The chances of spotting other hybrid jays remain low, given the sparse population in the overlapping regions.

Stokes highlighted that hybridization may be more prevalent in nature than currently understood. Naturalists and bird enthusiasts often overlook these rare occurrences due to the challenges of reporting them.

As climate change continues to shift wildlife ranges, we might see more hybrid species emerge, offering new areas for research and understanding. For more in-depth studies on wildlife adaptations, check out the National Audubon Society.

Source link