|
The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common near and in residential areas. It is predominantly blue with a white chest and underparts, and a blue crest. It has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest. Genders are similar in size and plumage, and plumage does not vary throughout the year. Four subspecies of the blue jay are recognized. The blue jay mainly feeds on nuts and seeds such as acorns, soft fruits, arthropods, and occasionally small vertebrates. It typically gleans food from trees, shrubs, and the ground, though it sometimes hawks insects from the air. Like squirrels, blue jays are known to hide nuts for later consumption.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The blue jays are coming! Hide yo kids, hide yo nuts! )〕 It builds an open cup nest in the branches of a tree, which both sexes participate in constructing. The clutch can contain two to seven eggs, which are blueish or light brown with brown spots. Young are altricial, and are brooded by the female for 8–12 days after hatching. They may remain with their parents for one to two months. The bird's name derives from its noisy, garrulous nature. It is sometimes called a "jaybird".〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/jaybird )〕 ==Taxonomy== The blue jay was first described as ''Pica glandaria cærulea cristata'' in English naturalist Mark Catesby's 1731 publication of ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas''. It was later described as ''Corvus cristatus'' in Carl Linnaeus' 1758 edition of ''Systema Naturae''. In the 19th century, the jay was described by French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1838 as ''Cyanocorax cristatus'' in ''A geographical and comparative list of the birds of Europe and North America'', and given its modern scientific name ''Cyanocitta cristata'' by Hugh Edwin Strickland in 1845. The genus name ''Cyanocitta'' derives from the Greek words 'kyaneos' (blue) and the 'kitta' and 'kissa' (chattering bird, jay), and the term 'blue chatterer' refers to the bright blue plumage of the head, nape, back, and tail of the bird. The specific name ''cristata'' (crested, tufted) derives from Latin referring to the prominent blue crest of the jay. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「blue jay」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|