Black-throated Jay - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Peter R. Bono
Dos Lagunas, northeast of San Cristobal des las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
July 2009

Alternative names: Black-throated Dwarf Jay; Strickland's Jay

Cyanolyca pumilo

Identification

25 - 28cm.

• Black forehead, sides of head and sepia throat
• Conspicuous narrow white line across forehad to behind eye, creating a clear boarder between black and cyan-blue
• Rest of plumage cyan-blue
• Brownish eye
• Black bill and legs

Sexes similar, females are duller than males. Juveniles are duller, lack the white line and the black is more greyish-black.

Distribution

Found in a small area in Central America, from the mountains of extreme southeast Mexico through Guatemala and El Salvador to north-western Honduras.
Not uncommon in it's range, reported to be in danger of being extirpated in El Salvador.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Montane cloudforests. Occurs between 1200m and 3050m.

Behaviour

Feeds on invertebrates like insects, spiders and caterpillars. Also seen taking fruits.
Usually encountered in flocks of 5 to 12 birds, often in dense vegetation.
Not much known about breeding. The nest is made of twigs and placed in the tree canopy. Immature birds were seen in July and August in Mexico.
A sedentary species.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
3. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-throated Jay. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-throated_Jay

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