Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) [XC431409]
by Thomas Magarian from Lake Valhalla near Steven's Pass, Chelan County, Washington, United States (call)
Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) [XC188817]
by Martin St-Michel from Beaver Lake Recreation Site, Liard Highway Km 10, British Columbia, Canada (call)
Subspecies
Recent DNA-sequencing indicates that this genus and Cyanopica form unique clades, separate from other corvids. This suggests that Perisoreus is not very closely related to Garrulus. Probably forms a superspecies with Sichuan Jay (Perisoreus internigrans) and Siberian Jay (Perisoreus infaustus). Size tends to increase clinally from south to north (and perhaps from coast towards interior).
Additional proposed subspecies are arcus (described from Coast District, in British Columbia) and nigricapillus (from Labrador), both subsumed in nominate, and griseus (L Keechelus, in Washington), considered a synonym of obscurus.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
pacificus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) - Alaska and north-western Canada (Yukon and north-western British Columbia).
canadensis (Linnaeus, 1766) - Northern Canada from MacKenzie River Delta east to Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, south to northern Alberta, central Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba, southern in northern USA to north-eastern Minnesota east to northern New England.
albescens Peters, JL, 1920 - Eastern Rocky Mts (from south-eastern Yukon, southern Northwest Territories, north-eastern British Columbia and north-western and central Alberta) east to central Saskatchewan and west-central Manitoba, southern in USA to eastern Montana, north-eastern Wyoming, Black Hills of South Dakota and north-western Minnesota.
obscurus Ridgway, 1874 - South-western British Columbia (including Vancouver I) and western USA in western Washington (Olympic Peninsula and Cascade Mts), Oregon (Cascade and Coast Ranges) and extreme northern California.
bicolor Miller, AH, 1933 - North-central Rocky Mts from south-eastern British Columbia southern in USA to eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and Idaho.
capitalis Baird, SF, 1874 - Southern Rocky Mts in eastern Idaho, western Wyoming, central Utah, western Colorado, east-central Arizona and north-central New Mexico.
nigricapillus Ridgway, 1882 - Eastern Canada (northern Quebec to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia).
griseus Ridgway, 1899 - South-western British Columbia and Vancouver I. to north-eastern California.
sanfordi Oberholser, 1914 - Newfoundland.
arcus Miller , 1950 - South-western Canada (coastal mountains of British Columbia).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet