Perisoreus canadensis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), also known as the grey jay, gray jay, camp robber, moose bird, gorby, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America, north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona. A fairly large songbird, the Canada jay has pale grey underparts, darker grey upperparts, and a grey-white head with a darker grey nape. It is one of three members of the genus Perisoreus, a genus more closely related to the magpie genus Cyanopica than to other birds known as jays. The Canada jay itself has nine recognized subspecies.
Canada jays live year-round on permanent territories in coniferous forests, surviving in winter months on food cached throughout their territory in warmer periods. The birds form monogamous mating pairs, with pairs accompanied on their territories by a third juvenile from the previous season. Canada jays adapt to human activity in their territories and are known to approach humans for food, inspiring a list of colloquial names including "lumberjack", "camp robber", and "venison-hawk". The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the Canada jay a least-concern species, but populations in southern ranges may be affected adversely by global warming.
The species is associated with mythological figures of several First Nations cultures, including Wisakedjak, a benevolent figure whose name was anglicized to Whiskyjack. In 2016, an online poll and expert panel conducted by Canadian Geographic magazine selected the Canada jay as the national bird of Canada, although the designation is not formally recognized. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Katmai National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wood Buffalo National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 11 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 19 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Jay sighting in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 112th most-seen of the 145 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Jay in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray Jay sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
18th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Gray Jay sightings, Cape Breton Highlands National Park ranks 18th at under 5%. The best odds are in Denali National Park (United States, about 60%), Kluane National Park (Canada, about 60%) and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Corvidae
The closest relatives of the Gray Jay that you can see in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (family Corvidae, Crows, Jays, and Magpies) are American Crow (about 60%), Common Raven (about 40%) and Blue Jay (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray Jay is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (22 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
