Cyanocorax cristatellus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Cladus: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Cladus: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Classis/Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Subclassis/Parvclassis: Neornithes
Infraclassis/Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Corvida
Superfamilia: Corvoidea

Familia: Corvidae
Genus: Cyanocorax
Species: Cyanocorax cristatellus
Name

Cyanocorax cristatellus (Temminck, 1823)
Vernacular names
References
Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux livr.33 pl.193

The curl-crested jay (Cyanocorax cristatellus) is a species of jay native to South America.

This New World jay is a beautiful and large (35 cm/14 in overall) bird with predominantly dark blue back, an almost black head and neck, and snow-white chest and underparts. They have a pronounced curled crest rising from just behind the beak; the crest is on average larger in males, but the sexes are generally quite similar.

The voice is a loud, gray, graa, gray-gray-gray, sometimes repeated 8-10 times.[2] They sound similar to crow.
Female curl-crested jay

Curl-crested jays are native to the cerrados of central and southern and the caatinga of north-eastern Brazil. In the southeast Amazon Basin, curl-crested jay ranges into the upstream headwater regions adjacent to the northwestern cerrado. In the west, the extreme headwaters of the west-flowing Guaporé River on the Brazil-Bolivia are home. For the southeast Amazon, the north-flowing rivers that limit the range are the Tapajós on the west, the Xingu River, then the adjacent drainage to the east, the Araguaia-Tocantins River system. The range continues easterly and southerly through the cerrado. The range on the river systems is only the upstream half of the drainages. They can also be found in extreme northern Paraguay. Altogether, they are limited by the extent of habitat, but wherever this is suitable, they may not be rare. For example, they are the most commonly seen corvid in the Serra do Cipó National Park.[3]

They live in groups of from 6 to 12 individuals, moving from food source to food source during the day. They leave a lookout nearby to keep watch for predators.[4] This bird is a generalist, eating almost anything, including eggs and nestlings of other birds, insects, arthropods, and small vertebrates like geckos. It also likes palm nuts and is particularly fond of the seeds of the native Inga laurina and the fruits of the introduced umbrella tree (Heptapleurum actinophyllum). Curl-crested jays have even been observed spending the early morning in a pequi tree (Caryocar brasiliense) where they fed on nectar, and perhaps also on invertebrates which had visited the mainly night-blooming flowers of this plant.[5]

This jay is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN,[6] and in fact they are at present expanding their range. However, range expansions may only be temporary and populations may eventually disappear from formerly settled locations again.[7]
Footnotes

BirdLife International (2017). "Cyanocorax cristatellus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22705714A118809406. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22705714A118809406.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
Sick (1993)
Rodrigues et al. (2005)
Ragusa-Netto (2000)
Melo (2001)
BLI (2008)

Faria et al. (2006)

References

Faria, Christiana M.A.; Rodrigues, Marcos; do Amaral, Frederico Q.; Módena, Érica & Fernandes, Alexandre M. (2006): Aves de um fragmento de Mata Atlântica no alto Rio Doce, Minas Gerais: colonização e extinção [The birds of an Atlantic Forest fragment at upper Rio Doce valley, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil: colonization and extinction]. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 23(4): 1217-1230 [Portuguese with English abstract]. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752006000400032 PDF fulltext
Lorenzi, Harri & de Souza, H.M. (2001): Plantas Ornamentais no Brasil ["Ornamental plants from Brazil"]. Instituto Plantarum, Nova Odessa, São Paulo, Brazil [in Portuguese].
Lorenzi, Harri (2002): Arvores Brasileiras: Manual de identificação e cultivo de plantas arbóreas do Brasil ["Brazilian trees: Identification and cultivation manual for Brazilian arboraceous plants"]. Instituto Plantarum, Nova Odessa, São Paulo, Brazil [in Portuguese].
Melo, C. (2001): Diurnal bird visiting of Caryocar brasiliense Camb. in Central Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 61(2): 311-316 [with Portuguese abstract]. doi:10.1590/S0034-71082001000200014 PDF fulltext
Ragusa-Netto, J. (2000): Raptors and "campo-cerrado" bird mixed flock led by Cypsnagra hirundinacea (Emberizidae: Thraupinae). Revista Brasileira de Biologia 60(3): 461-467 [English with Portuguese abstract]. doi:10.1590/S0034-71082000000300011 PDF fulltext
Ridgely, Robert S.; Tudor, Guy & Brown, William L. (1989): The Birds of South America (Vol.1: The oscine passerines). University of Texas Press, Austin. ISBN 0-19-857217-4
Rodrigues, Marcos; Carrara, Lucas A.; Faria, Luciene P. & Gomes, Henrique B. (2005): Aves do Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó: o Vale do Rio Cipó, Minas Gerais, Brasil [The birds of 'Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó': the Rio Cipó valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil]. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 22(2): 326–338 [Portuguese with English abstract]. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752005000200005 PDF fulltext
Sick, Helmut (1993): Birds of Brazil – A Natural History. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 0-691-08569-2
Sigrist, T. (2006): Birds of Brazil – An Artistic View. São Paulo. ISBN 85-905074-1-6