# Eurasian jay (*Garrulus glandarius*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-jay  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Corvidae in the order Passeriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 159.5 g and a wingspan of 54 cm. The Eurasian jay is an omnivore that lives in forest habitats, has a perching lifestyle and is partially migratory, with a geographic range of 19,460,000 km². It lays 5 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 16.5 days, and it is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 155 g – 166.1 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 54 cm |
| Lifespan | 17 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 17.9 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 16.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.6 – 5 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Corvidae
- genus: Garrulus
- species: *Garrulus glandarius* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Corvus glandarius*, *Corvus melanocephalus*, *Garrulus diaphorus*, *Garrulus glandarius minkoensis*, *Garrulus glandarius rubrosus*, *Garrulus glandarius ussuriensis*, *Garrulus glandivorus*, *Garrulus insularis*, *Garrulus rufescens*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the Eurasian jay?

The Eurasian jay is a bird in the family Corvidae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup in the order Passeriformes.

### How heavy is a Eurasian jay?

An adult Eurasian jay weighs 159.5 g, with values from 155 g to 166.1 g reported by sources. Its wingspan is 54 cm.

### What does the Eurasian jay eat?

The Eurasian jay is an omnivore.

### What habitat does the Eurasian jay live in?

The Eurasian jay lives in forest habitats and has a perching lifestyle.

### Is the Eurasian jay endangered?

No. The Eurasian jay is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a Eurasian jay live?

The Eurasian jay has a lifespan of 17 years, with up to 17.92 years reported by sources.

### How many eggs does a Eurasian jay lay?

The Eurasian jay lays 5 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 16.5 days.

### Who named the Eurasian jay?

The Eurasian jay, Garrulus glandarius, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-jay