Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

jay

 
Dictionary: jay1   (jā) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.
The letter j.


jay2 (jā) pronunciation
n.
  1. Any of various often crested birds of the genera Garrulus, Cyanocitta, Aphelocoma, and related genera within the family Corvidae, often having a loud, harsh call. Also called jaybird.
  2. An overly talkative person; a chatterbox.

[Middle English jai, from Old French, from Late Latin gāius, gāia, perhaps from Latin Gāius, personal name.]


Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: jay
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
(click to enlarge)
Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) (credit: John H. Gerard)
Any of 35 – 40 bird species (family Corvidae) that inhabit woodlands and are known for their bold, raucous manner. Most are found in the New World, but several are Eurasian. Jays are nearly omnivores; some steal eggs, and many store seeds and nuts for winter use. They make a twiggy, cuplike nest in trees. The 12-in. (30-cm) blue jay, blue and white with a narrow black neckline, is found in North America east of the Rockies; westward it is replaced by the dark-blue, black-crested Steller's jay. Another abundant species is the scrub jay, found throughout western North America and in Florida.

For more information on jay, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: jay
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
jay, common name for a number of birds of the family Corvidae (crows and jays), found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The best-known representatives in America are the blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata, and the Canada jay. The Canada jay is gray, about 12 in. (30 cm) long, with a white throat and forehead and black nape; it has no crest. Found in northern coniferous forests and swamps, it is known for its habit of stealing bright objects, and is called locally camp robber, whisky jack, and moose bird. The common jay is of wide distribution and is hunted for game in England and Europe. The female lays from five to seven eggs per clutch, and the male helps incubate them. The Florida, or scrub, jay has blue markings and no crest. The European jay is fawn-colored, with a black and white crest and wings of black, white, and blue. Jays are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Corvidae.

Wikipedia: Jay
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For other uses, see Jay (disambiguation).
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genera

Contents

The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian Magpie seems more closely related to the Eurasian Jay than to the Oriental Blue and Green Magpies, whereas the Blue Jay is not closely related to either.

Systematics and species

See classification box for relevant genera links. Traditionally, the Crested Jay (Platylophus galericulatus) is placed here, but apparently this is not correct, as suggested by anatomical and molecular evidence[citation needed]. Its placement remains unresolved; it does not seem to be a corvid at all. It should be noted that according to the research of Ericson et al. (2005), jays are not a monophyletic group. Rather, they can be divided into an American and an Old World lineage (the latter including the ground jays and the Piapiac), while the gray jays of the genus Perisoreus form a group of their own. The Black Magpie, formerly believed to be related to jays, is classified as a treepie.

Old World ("brown") jays

Grey jays

American ("blue") jays

In culture

Slang

The word "jay" has an archaic meaning in American slang meaning an impertinent person.

The term jaywalking was coined in 1915 to label persons crossing a busy street carelessly and becoming a traffic hazard.[1] The term began to imply recklessness or impertinent behavior as the convention became established. ("jay-walker". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.).

See also

References

  • Ericson, Per G. P.; Jansén, Anna-Lee; Johansson, Ulf S. & Ekman, Jan (2005): Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data. Journal of Avian Biology 36: 222-234. PDF fulltext

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Translations: Jay
Top
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Translations

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - skovskade

2.
n. - fjols, godtroende fjols, sludrehoved

Nederlands (Dutch)
kletskous, groentje, Vlaamse gaai

Français (French)
1.
n. - j (phonème de la lettre j)

2.
n. - (Orn) geai, bavard, néophyte

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - (Ornith.) Eichelhäher

2.
n. - Jot (Buchstabe)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ορνιθ.) κίσσα, χαλκοκουρούνα, καρακάξα, πολυλογάς, γλωσσοκοπάνα

Italiano (Italian)
chiacchierone, novellino

Português (Portuguese)
n. - araponga (f), pessoa (f) tagarela

Русский (Russian)
сойка, надоедливый болтун, безвкусно одетая женщина, простак, сигарета с марихуаной

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - parlanchín, cotorra, charlador, hablador, arrendajo

2.
n. - necio, tonto, simplón

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - nötskrika, dumskalle, pratmakare

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 松鸦, 傻瓜, 爱唠叨的人

2. 大麻烟

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 大麻煙

2.
n. - 松鴉, 傻瓜, 愛嘮叨的人

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 어치

2.
n. - 잘 속아넘어가는 사람, 풋내기, 수다쟁이, 멍청이

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - カケス

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ابو زريق ( طائر), قيق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עורב הציצה‬
n. - ‮פטפטן, בור‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.


 
 
Learn More
Jaye (family name)
piñon jay (dull blue)
blue jay

Who is jay watson? Read answer...
Who is jay wilson? Read answer...
Who is jay charles? Read answer...

Help us answer these
How old do you have to be to work at Jay Jays?
What does jay jay okoca worth?
Who does jay jay okatcha play for?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jay".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more