Question

What is the Evolutionary Relationship between a Blue Jay, robin, cardinal, finch, and a pelican??

Answer 1

blue jay, common name for a familiar bird (Cyanocitta cristata) of central and E North America, allied to the crow, the raven, and the magpie, belonging to the family Corvidae. Almost a foot (30 cm) long, it is handsome and conspicuous. Its upper parts, including the crest, are grayish violet blue. The wings and tail are bright blue with black and white markings, the neck is collared with black, and the under parts are gray and white. Except during the nesting season it has a raucous cry with hawklike and other imitative sounds. Some winter in their northern range, but many travel south. They feed chiefly on large insects, seeds, and nuts (especially acorns and beechnuts); they also eat eggs and nestlings. When the female blue jay is incubating, she is fed by the male. Blue jays are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Corvidae.

Answer 2

As a more general observation, the birds you listed have a common ancestor: the early reptile, and all adapted from a similar species into their unique forms, based on habitat, diet, predators and soforth. For example, the Pelican has a wider beak/bill compared to some of the other birds because of its marine-based diet.
Here's the evolutionary tree : http://evillusion.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/treeolif.jpg

Answer 3

omg thank you! i couldnt find the answer anywhere online and i even asked people and they didn't know. your a life saver! i realy needed that for a project for biology.

Answer 4

how would u make a cladogram for it???

Answer 5

I actually linked an example of a cladogram, actually. It basically just shows which species evolved from which and etc. Here's a cladogram for birds, which should serve as an example : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Neoaves_Alternative_Cladogram.png
Wikipedia, surprisingly, is pretty useful. The evolution section of their page on birds should help you get started :)

Answer 6

thanks!