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Bird

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

Lives in Mississippi all year and nests here. Found in all 82 counties, across 11 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 82 counties
Habitats
11

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 82 counties
Habitats
11
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Mississippi 11

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 11

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Mississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874), a neighboring state.The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Mississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (151)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Mississippi. Those recorded in Mississippi first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (82)
  • Appalachian Shale Barrens Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Year-round.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Year-round.
  • Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Year-round.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Year-round.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Year-round.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Year-round.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Year-round.
  • Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
Northeast (11)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Midwest (7)
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Year-round.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (51)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Year-round.
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Year-round.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Mississippi

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 82 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 38

Plant genera in its diet records (2)
  • Quercus 1 diet record. 38 native plants in Mississippi
  • Zea 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Mississippi

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Mississippi, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Swamps

Birds 109

Plants 291

All of swamps in Mississippi

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 98

Plants 346

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Mississippi

Moist forests

Birds 58

Plants 270

All of moist forests in Mississippi

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources