| Curl-crested jay | |
|---|---|
P5051282.JPG) | |
| Male | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Cyanocorax |
| Species: | C. cristatellus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyanocorax cristatellus (Temminck, 1823) | |
 | |
Thecurl-crested jay (Cyanocorax cristatellus) is a species ofjay 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 curledcrest 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 tocrow.
Curl-crested jays are native to thecerrados of central and southern and thecaatinga of north-eastern Brazil. In the southeastAmazon Basin, curl-crested jay ranges into the upstream headwater regions adjacent to the northwestern cerrado. In the west, the extreme headwaters of the west-flowingGuaporé River on the Brazil-Bolivia are home. For the southeast Amazon, the north-flowing rivers that limit the range are theTapajós on the west, theXingu River, then the adjacent drainage to the east, theAraguaia-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 seencorvid in theSerra 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 likespalm nuts and is particularly fond of the seeds of the nativeInga 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 onnectar, and perhaps also oninvertebrates which had visited the mainly night-blooming flowers of this plant.[5]
This jay is not considered a threatened species by theIUCN,[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]
