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Cyanocitta

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Cyanocitta is a genus of birds in the family Corvidae, which also contains the crows and magpies, comprising two jays with blue plumage and a distinctive feather crest, the blue jay and Steller's jay. Found only in temperate North America, with the Rocky Mountains marking the rough divide between the two species' ranges, they inhabit deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests and feed mainly on seeds, invertebrates and small vertebrates, with occasional human food. As omnivores they breed from spring to early summer, nesting in treetops or bushes with clutches of three to six eggs, and are the only American corvids known to use mud in nest-building; the two species differ in migratory behavior, socialization and mating habits despite their similarities.

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