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Black-collared Jay Cyanolyca armillata Scientific name definitions

Luiz dos Anjos, Josep del Hoyo, Guy M. Kirwan, and Nigel Collar
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated December 31, 2017

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Introduction

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

Black-collared Jay is a beautiful montane corvid of northwestern South America. Found in humid forest and edge habitats between 1800 and 3000 meters, the species inhabits the Andes from western Venezuela to northern Ecuador. In this range, it is most common in Venezuela and northern Colombia. It is dark blue overall with a paler blue crown and black facemask connecting to a thin black breastband. In the southern part of its range, Black-collared Jay is sympatric with the similar Turquoise Jay (Cyanolyca turcosa), but that species is greener overall and has a shorter tail.

Subspecies


EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Black-collared Jay (Black-collared) Cyanolyca armillata armillata/meridana

Available illustrations of subspecies in this group

SUBSPECIES

Cyanolyca armillata armillata Scientific name definitions

Distribution
E Andes of SW Venezuela and Colombia (Táchira S along R Chiquito to Cundinamarca).
Field Identification


SUBSPECIES

Cyanolyca armillata meridana Scientific name definitions

Distribution
NW Venezuela (Trujillo, Mérida and NW Táchira).
Field Identification


EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Black-collared Jay (Quindio) Cyanolyca armillata quindiuna Scientific name definitions

Distribution

C Colombia (from Quindío Mts, in C Andes, S to E slope of Andes of Pasto) S to extreme N Ecuador (Carchi, W Napo).

Field Identification

Distribution of the Black-collared Jay - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Black-collared Jay

Map last updated 17 April 2025.

Recommended Citation

dos Anjos, L., J. del Hoyo, G. M. Kirwan, and N. Collar (2020). Black-collared Jay (Cyanolyca armillata), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blcjay2.01
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