Rare bird found in Texas is part blue jay, part green jay

Birds of a feather flock together, the adage goes. But a rare bird spotted in Texas suggests there's more ornithological intermingling than previously thought.

When researchers at the University of Texas at Austin discovered a strange-looking bird spotted near San Antonio, they visited the scene in June 2023 and took a blood sample. Test results revealed the bird as a hybrid – the result of a blue jay mating with a green jay – they reported this month in the journal Ecology and Evolution .

The bird may be among the first examples of climate change contributing to the formation of hybrid animals, the researchers say, as the habitat ranges of blue jays and green jays did not overlap until a few decades ago.

"We think it’s the first observed vertebrate that’s hybridized as a result