Conservation

The Beautiful Jay is considered to be Near Threatened by BirdLife International (2009); this status is unchanged from Collar et al. (1992).  This is a scarce and poorly known species that occupies a very limited range. The population size and overall population trends are not known, but the population is believed to be declining, and the status of the species should be carefully monitored (BirdLife International 2009). In the province of Pichincha, northwestern Ecuador, the Beautiful Jay appears to have become even more scarce in recent years, despite no apparent change in habitat quality Ridgely and Greenfield (2001a).

In terms of relative abundance, the Beautiful Jay usually is described as "rare and local" (Hilty and Brown 1986) or "rare to locally uncommon" (Ridgely and Greenfield 2001a); but it was assessed as "fairly common" in the Reserva Natural Tambito, Cauca, Colombia (Donegan and Dávalos 1999).

In Colombia, the Beautiful Jay is reported from the Río Ñambi and La Planada reserves in Nariño, and from the Tambito reserve in Cauca (Renjifo et al. 2002). There are no recent reports from the Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá; the jay also should be looked for in the Parque Nacional Natural de Farallones de Cali (Renjifo et al. 2002). It also occurs in the Cerro Golondrinas Reserve in Carchi, Ecuador (Freile 2004).

With its extremely restricted range and dependence upon pristine primary forest habitat, this species is very vulnerable to human disturbance. Logging and habitat clearance pose the greatest threat, exacerbated by colonization, roads, cattle grazing, mining, and coca and palm cultivation. Over 40% of Cocó forests have been cleared or degraded since 1960, and deforestation continues to accelerate (BirdLife International, 2009).