San Blas jay

Species of bird

San Blas jay
Conservation status

Least Concern  (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. sanblasianus
Binomial name
Cyanocorax sanblasianus
(Lafresnaye, 1842)

The San Blas jay (Cyanocorax sanblasianus) is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to Mexico where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests; it is a common species and has been rated as "least concern" by the IUCN.[1]

Description

The adult San Blas jay is between 27 and 35 cm (11 and 14 in) long and weighs between 92 and 122 g (3 and 4 oz). The sexes are similar; the adult has back, rump, wings and tail blue and the remaining plumage black. There is a small crest on the front of the head, the bill is black, the irises are white and the legs are black. The juveniles are similar apart from a larger crest, a yellow bill and brown eyes.[2]

Distribution

This jay is endemic to Mexico. There are two subspecies; C. s. nelsoni is found in southwestern Mexico, from Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima southward to western Guerrero; and C. s. sanblasianus is found in the coastal region of Guerrero. The habitat includes dry and semi-moist woodland, thickets, groves and plantations as well as mangrove areas. This bird is not found deep in the forest.[2][3]

Ecology

The species is social, living in small groups of up to thirty individuals including six to ten breeding pairs. These occupy a large territory but have little interaction with neighbouring groups. The birds seem to have stable pair bonds and most start breeding at three years old. The nests are grouped socially in trees, vines or shrubs, often in the crowns of palm trees. Each is constructed of twigs and lined with soft plant material, and a clutch of up to four mottled eggs is laid. Non-breeding females sometimes take short turns at incubation, which takes about eighteen days. Both parents care for the young, and several birds may help feed the chicks, especially after they have fledged.[4][5]

The San Blas jay is omnivorous, the birds feeding both on the ground and in the lower parts of trees. The diet consists of insects and other invertebrates, fruit and small vertebrates such as lizards.[5] This bird has been observed taking nestlings from the nest of a ruddy ground dove (Columbina talpacoti).[6]

References

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2020). "Cyanocorax sanblasianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22705687A137745177. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22705687A137745177.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Edwards, Ernest Preston (1998). A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas: Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. University of Texas Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-292-72091-6.
  3. ^ dos Anjos, L. "San Blas Jay (Cyanocorax sanblasianus)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. ^ Hardy, John W.; Webber, Thomas A.; Raitt, Ralph J. (1981). "Communal Social Biology of the Southern San Blas Jay". Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences. Vol. 26. pp. 203–264 – via Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.
  5. ^ a b Madge, Steve (2010). Crows and Jays. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-1-4081-3169-5.
  6. ^ Gurrola Hidalgo, Marco A.; Sanchez-Hernandez, Cornelio; RomeraAlmara, María de Lourdes (2009). "Novel food sources for Quiscalus mexicanus and Cyanocorax sanblasianus in Chamela, Jalisco coast, Mexico". Acta Zoológica Mexicana. 25 (2). ISSN 0065-1737.
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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)
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Holarctic
magpies
Pica
  • Black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia)
  • Yellow-billed magpie (P. nuttalli)
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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)
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Calocitta
(Magpie-Jays)
  • Black-throated magpie-jay (C. colliei)
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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 sanblasianus