Five species of jay inhabit Colorado. All are noisy, aggressive and omnivorous birds but each is associated with a unique life zone; as is usual in nature, the borders of their range tend to overlap.
Blue jays, common throughout eastern and central North America, spread into Colorado via the South Platte and Arkansas Valleys and are now common along the Front Range urban corridor; they are easily found along wooded streams and in residential areas. Scrub jays inhabit foothill shrublands and lower canyons throughout the State, generally at elevations between six and seven thousand feet. In the higher foothills and mountains, Steller's jays are found, favoring the ponderosa parklands and Douglas fir forests that dominate the vegetation of the Montane Zone (roughly 7-9000 feet); they may be seen as high as timberline in summer and occasionally descend to the Plains in winter.
Gray jays, also known as Canadian jays, prefer the high forests of the Subalpine and Hudsonian Zones, between 9000 and 11,500 feet. Inquisitive and rather tame, they often visit picnic areas and ski resorts, seeking handouts or grabbing leftovers. Finally, pinyon jays favor the dry, open country of southern and western Colorado where, as their name implies, they roam among pinyon-juniper woodlands; unlike the other jay species, they tend to move about in sizable flocks and, from a distance, are often mistaken for crows.
