Canada jay
Perisoreus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
The canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is a species in the family Corvidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 67.6 g to 75.5 g and live up to 17.2 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the canada jay
- Weight
- 67.6 g – 75.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 17.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 19.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 17 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the canada jay live?
Not recorded
What is the canada jay?
The Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), also known as the grey jay, gray jay, camp robber, moose bird, gorby, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America, north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona. A fairly large songbird, the Canada jay has pale grey underparts, darker grey upperparts, and a grey-white head with a darker grey nape. It is one of three members of the genus Perisoreus, a genus more closely related to the magpie genus Cyanopica than to other birds known as jays. The Canada jay itself has nine recognized subspecies.
Canada jays live year-round on permanent territories in coniferous forests, surviving in winter months on food cached throughout their territory in warmer periods. The birds form monogamous mating pairs, with pairs accompanied on their territories by a third juvenile from the previous season. Canada jays adapt to human activity in their territories and are known to approach humans for food, inspiring a list of colloquial names including "lumberjack", "camp robber", and "venison-hawk". The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the Canada jay a least-concern species, but populations in southern ranges may be affected adversely by global warming.
The species is associated with mythological figures of several First Nations cultures, including Wisakedjak, a benevolent figure whose name was anglicized to Whiskyjack. In 2016, an online poll and expert panel conducted by Canadian Geographic magazine selected the Canada jay as the national bird of Canada, although the designation is not formally recognized.
From the Wikipedia article “Canada jay” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canada_jay&oldid=1373894385), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the canada jay sound like?
Is the canada jay endangered?
The canada jay is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the canada jay classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae
- genusPerisoreus
- SpeciesPerisoreus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Corvus canadensis, Dysornithia brachyrynchus, Dysornithia canadensis, Garrulus brachyrynchus, Garrulus nuchalis
Other names and names in other languages (59)
- Camp robberEnglish
- GorbeyEnglish
- GorbyEnglish
- Gray jayEnglish
- Grease birdEnglish
- Grey jayEnglish
- MoosebirdEnglish
- Venison hawkEnglish
- Whiskey jackEnglish
- Whisky-JohnEnglish
- قيق رماديArabic
- Канадска сойкаBulgarian
- gaig canadencCatalan
- wîskicahkCree
- sojka šedáCzech
- sgrech lwydWelsh
- Grå LavskrigeDanish
- MeisenhäherGerman
- Griza garoloEsperanto
- kanada garoloEsperanto
- Chara grisSpanish
- Arrendajo canadienseSpanish
- Arrendajo grisSpanish
- Urraca grisSpanish
- neqaiqCentral Yupik
- kisirallerrCentral Yupik
- ameerika laanenäärEstonian
- harmaakuukkeliFinnish
- geai grisFrench
- geai du CanadaFrench
- Mésangeai du CanadaFrench
- Scréachóg liathIrish
- Screeaghag lheeahManx
- siva šojkaCroatian
- szürke szajkóHungarian
- Ghiandaia grigiaItalian
- Ghiandaia canadeseItalian
- ghiandaia grigia canadeseItalian
- カナダカケスJapanese
- kanadinis kėkštasLithuanian
- Kanādas bēdrozisLatvian
- Náhookǫs biyaadę́ę́ʼ báʼiiNavajo
- Canadese GaaiDutch
- Canadese TaigagaaiDutch
- gråskrikeNorwegian
- GwiingwiishiOjibwa
- sójka kanadyjskaPolish
- Gaio-cinzentoPortuguese
- gaio-canadianoPortuguese
- gaio-do-canadáPortuguese
- Канадская кукшаRussian
- Канадская ронжаRussian
- škriekavec bieločelýSlovak
- Siva američka krejaSerbian
- grå lavskrikaSwedish
- Kanada KargasıTurkish
- кукша канадськаUkrainian
- 灰噪鴉Chinese
- 灰噪鸦Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the canada jay
Other species in the same genus Perisoreus.
Siberian jay
Perisoreus infaustus
Sichuan jay
Perisoreus internigrans
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the canada jay?
An adult canada jay weighs 67.6 g – 75.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the canada jay endangered?
The canada jay is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the canada jay live?
The canada jay has a recorded lifespan of 17.2 years.
What kind of animal is the canada jay?
The canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) belongs to the family Corvidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/canada-jay
“Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/canada-jay.
@misc{canada_jay_2026,
title = {Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/canada-jay},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}