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Climate Change Sparks First Blue-Green Jay Hybrid Discovery

9/24/2025

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Summary

Story summary

The University of Texas confirms a blue jay × green jay hybrid near San Antonio in 2023.
It’s the first vertebrate hybrid attributed to climate-change range expansion.
Spotted by a local birder in 2023, it was confirmed by genetic analysis and published in Ecology and Evolution.
The bird, tagged and released, returned to the same backyard in June 2025.

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Story summary

The University of Texas confirms a blue jay × green jay hybrid near San Antonio in 2023.
It’s the first vertebrate hybrid attributed to climate-change range expansion.
Spotted by a local birder in 2023, it was confirmed by genetic analysis and published in Ecology and Evolution.
The bird, tagged and released, returned to the same backyard in June 2025.