Azure jay

Species of bird

Azure jay
In Curitiba, Brazil
Conservation status

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Cyanocorax
Species:
C. caeruleus
Binomial name
Cyanocorax caeruleus
(Vieillot, 1818)
Approximate distribution in green

The azure jay (Cyanocorax caeruleus) (Brazilian Portuguese: Gralha-azul, meaning blue jackdaw) is a passeriform bird of the crow family, Corvidae. It is found in the Atlantic Forest, especially with Araucaria angustifolia, in south-eastern Brazil (São Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul), far eastern Paraguay and far north-eastern Argentina. It is the state bird of Paraná.

Description

The azure jay has a total length of approximately 40 cm (16 in) and it weighs about 270 g (9.5 oz), and is the largest South American corvid. Its plumage is intensely blue with a contrasting black head and upper chest. Males and females are similar, although the females typically are smaller.

Its breeding season is from October to January. This bird is a social breeder. It lays 2–4 eggs and its nest is made of sticks. It is placed 10–20 m (33–66 ft) above the ground in an Araucaria tree.

Diet

It feeds extensively on the nut-like seeds of Araucaria angustifolia, but it is not strictly limited to this since it also feeds on insects and fruit. As other corvids, azure jays are highly intelligent. Their communication is complex, consisting of at least 14 distinct vocalizations. They form groups of 4 to 15 individuals that are well organized in hierarchies. These groups remain stable for up to two generations.

See also

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Cyanocorax coeruleus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22705708A118809755. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22705708A118809755.en. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  • Cyanocorax caeruleus - azure jay specimen(s) in the ZMA

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cyanocorax caeruleus.
  • A lenda da Gralha Azul The legend of the Blue Jay in Portuguese (Internet Archive copy)
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Extant species of family Corvidae
Family Corvidae
Choughs
Pyrrhocorax
  • Alpine chough (P. graculus)
  • Red-billed chough (P. pyrrhocorax)
Treepies
Crypsirina
  • Hooded treepie (C. cucullata)
  • Black racket-tailed treepie (C. temia)
Dendrocitta
  • Andaman treepie (D. bayleyi)
  • Bornean treepie (D. cinerascens)
  • Grey treepie (D. formosae)
  • Black-faced treepie (D. frontalis)
  • White-bellied treepie (D. leucogastra)
  • Sumatran treepie (D. occipitalis)
  • Rufous treepie (D. vagabunda)
Platysmurus
  • Malayan black magpie (P. leucopterus)
  • Bornean black magpie (P. aterrimus)
Temnurus
  • Ratchet-tailed treepie (T. temnurus)
Oriental
magpies
Cissa
  • Common green magpie (C. chinensis)
  • Indochinese green magpie (C. hypoleuca)
  • Bornean green magpie (C. jefferyi)
  • Javan green magpie (C. thalassina)
Urocissa
  • Taiwan blue magpie (U. caerulea)
  • Red-billed blue magpie (U. erythrorhyncha)
  • Yellow-billed blue magpie (U. flavirostris)
  • Sri Lanka blue magpie (U. ornata)
  • White-winged magpie (U. whiteheadi)
Old World jays
Garrulus
  • Eurasian jay (G. glandarius)
  • Lanceolated jay (G. lanceolatus)
  • Lidth's jay (G. lidthi)
Podoces
(Ground jays)
  • Xinjiang ground jay (P. biddulphi)
  • Mongolian ground jay (P. hendersoni)
  • Turkestan ground jay (P. panderi)
  • Iranian ground jay (P. pleskei)
Ptilostomus
  • Piapiac (P. afer)
Stresemann's
bushcrow
Zavattariornis
  • Stresemann's bushcrow (Z. stresemanni)
Family Corvidae (continued)
Nutcrackers
Nucifraga
  • Spotted nutcracker (N. caryocatactes)
  • Clark's nutcracker (N. columbiana)
  • Kashmir nutcracker (N. multipunctata)
Holarctic
magpies
Pica
  • Black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia)
  • Yellow-billed magpie (P. nuttalli)
  • Eurasian magpie (P. pica)
  • Oriental magpie (P. sericea)
  • Maghreb magpie (P. mauritanica)
  • Asir magpie (P. asirensis)
  • Black-rumped magpie (P. bottanensis)
True crows
Corvus
Australian and Melanesian species
Little crow (C. bennetti)
Australian raven (C. coronoides)
Bismarck crow (C. insularis)
Brown-headed crow (C. fuscicapillus)
Bougainville crow (C. meeki)
Little raven (C. mellori)
New Caledonian crow (C. moneduloides)
Torresian crow (C. orru)
Forest raven (C. tasmanicus)
Grey crow (C. tristis)
Long-billed crow (C. validus)
White-billed crow (C. woodfordi)
Pacific island species
Hawaiian crow (C. hawaiiensis)
Mariana crow (C. kubaryi)
Tropical Asian species
Slender-billed crow (C. enca)
Small crow (C. samarensis)
Palawan crow (C. pusillus)
Flores crow (C. florensis)
Large-billed crow (C. macrorhynchos)
Eastern jungle crow (C. levaillantii)
Indian jungle crow (C. culminatus)
House crow (C. splendens)
Collared crow (C. torquatus)
Piping crow (C. typicus)
Banggai crow (C. unicolor)
Violet crow (C. violaceus)
Eurasian and North African species
Mesopotamian crow (C. capellanus)
Hooded crow (C. cornix)
Carrion crow (C. corone)
Rook (C. frugilegus)
Eastern carrion crow (C. orientalis)
Fan-tailed raven (C. rhipidurus)
Brown-necked raven (C. ruficollis)
Holarctic species
Common raven (C. corax)
North and Central American species
American crow (C. brachyrhynchos)
Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus)
Tamaulipas crow (C. imparatus)
Jamaican crow (C. jamaicensis)
White-necked crow (C. leucognaphalus)
Cuban palm crow (C. minutus)
Cuban crow (C. nasicus)
Fish crow (C. ossifragus)
Hispaniolan palm crow (C. palmarum)
Sinaloan crow (C. sinaloae)
Tropical African species
White-necked raven (C. albicollis)
Pied crow (C. albus)
Cape crow (C. capensis)
Thick-billed raven (C. crassirostris)
Somali crow (C. edithae)
Jackdaws
Coloeus
Family Corvidae (continued)
Azure-winged
magpies
Cyanopica
  • Iberian magpie (C. cooki)
  • Azure-winged magpie (C. cyanus)
Grey jays
Perisoreus
  • Canada jay (P. canadensis)
  • Siberian jay (P. infaustus)
  • Sichuan jay (P. internigrans)
New World jays
Aphelocoma
(Scrub jays)
  • California scrub jay (A. californica)
  • Island scrub jay (A. insularis)
  • Woodhouse's scrub jay (A. woodhouseii)
  • Florida scrub jay (A. coerulescens)
  • Transvolcanic jay (A. ultramarina)
  • Unicolored jay (A. unicolor)
  • Mexican jay (A. wollweberi)
Calocitta
(Magpie-Jays)
  • Black-throated magpie-jay (C. colliei)
  • White-throated Magpie-jay (C. formosa)
Cyanocitta
  • Blue jay (C. cristata)
  • Steller's jay (C. stelleri)
Cyanocorax
  • Black-chested jay (C. affinis)
  • Purplish-backed jay (C. beecheii)
  • Azure jay (C. caeruleus)
  • Cayenne jay (C. cayanus)
  • Plush-crested jay (C. chrysops)
  • Curl-crested jay (C. cristatellus)
  • Purplish jay (C. cyanomelas)
  • White-naped jay (C. cyanopogon)
  • Tufted jay (C. dickeyi)
  • Azure-naped jay (C. heilprini)
  • Bushy-crested jay (C. melanocyaneus)
  • Brown jay (C. morio)
  • White-tailed jay (C. mystacalis)
  • San Blas jay (C. sanblasianus)
  • Violaceous jay (C. violaceus)
  • Green jay (C. ynca)
  • Yucatan jay (C. yucatanicus)
Cyanolyca
  • Silvery-throated jay (C. argentigula)
  • Black-collared jay (C. armillata)
  • Azure-hooded jay (C. cucullata)
  • White-throated jay (C. mirabilis)
  • Dwarf jay (C. nana)
  • Beautiful jay (C. pulchra)
  • Black-throated jay (C. pumilo)
  • Turquoise jay (C. turcosa)
  • White-collared jay (C. viridicyana)
Gymnorhinus
  • Pinyon jay (G. cyanocephalus)
Taxon identifiers
Cyanocorax caeruleus


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