Discussion · Open Science

Ben Royce 🇺🇦

@benroyce@mastodon.social · 2 days ago

Americans and Canadians will recognize the #bird on the left as a #blueJay

Mexicans will recognize the bird on the right as a #greenJay

What's the bird in the middle?

That's the #globalWarming Jay

(What I'm calling it)

Due to #climateChange green jays are increasingly moving north and overlapping with blue jays

This is the first observed hybrid in the wild (#Texas) between these two #species separated by 7 million years of evolution

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/science/blue-jay-green-jay-hybrid

#climateCrisis #birds #science

A rare hybrid (center) identified in a San Antonio suburb is the result of mating between a male blue jay (left) and a female green jay, a study found.

Joseph Meyer

@JosephMeyer@c.im replied · 2 days ago

@benroyce Another article from Yahoo News indicates it has not yet been determined if the hybrid is fertile.

Ben Royce 🇺🇦

@benroyce@mastodon.social replied · 2 days ago

@JosephMeyer

that's right, many of these hybrids of different species wind up infertile

BЯIΛП :buffalo_sabres:

@SerialWhiner@beige.party replied · 2 days ago

@benroyce
So green jays crossing the border from Mexico. Sure this global warming jay was likely born in the USA, but it's half Mexican and has a dark face.
PROTECT THIS BIRB FROM ICE !

peachfront

@peachfront@toot.community replied · 2 days ago

@benroyce love is real!!!

Ben Royce 🇺🇦

@benroyce@mastodon.social replied · 2 days ago

bonus pic of the #bluejay-#greenjay hybrid

(technically not the first: the first was an offspring of birds in captivity in the 1960s. this is the first hybrid observed in the wild)

only in the last 10 years have the species overlapped in Texas. the blue jay also has been expanding, westward, and this has been going on for a longer time due to human alterations to the environment

before that, they were separated for millions of years

#birds #bird