A study recently published in Ecology and Evolution confirmed that the bird was a hybrid between the blue jay and green jay species. Blue jays seldom ventured west of Houston, and green jays rarely moved north of the Texas–Mexico border. The overall appearance is similar to that of a blue jay, but with the distinctive mask and white underparts that are typical of a green jay. Later, genetic analysis confirmed that the bird’s father was a blue jay and its mother was a green jay. A previous group of researchers bred a similar jay hybrid in captivity in the 1970s by crossing a green jay and a blue jay.