Turquoise Jay (Cyanolyca turcosa)

Identification & Behavior: ~31 cm (12.2 in). The Turquoise Jay is all blue with white on the forehead. It has a black mask through the eye and a blue throat bordered by a thin black rim. It forages in family groups in the canopy and sub-canopy of humid montane forest. It is very similar to the White-collared Jay but their ranges are separated by the Marañon Valley.

Status: The Turquoise Jay is fairly common in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes on the west side of the Marañon Valley at elevations ranging between 2400-3000 m. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Urraca Turquesa.

Sub-species: Turquoise Jay (Cyanolyca turcosa), (Bonaparte), 1853.

Meaning of Name: Cyanolyca: Gr. kuanos= dark-blue and lukos= a type of crow, perhaps the Jackdaw, mentioned by Aristotle and Hesychius. viridicyanus: L. viridis, virere= green, to be green and kuaneos, cyaneus= dark-blue, glossy dark-blue.

See more of the Family Corvidae