NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Tufted Jay
Cyanocorax dickeyi R. T. Moore, 1935
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Durango Highway,Sinaloa
Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The tufted jay (Cyanocorax dickeyi), also known as the painted jay and Dickey's jay, is a species of bird in the crow family Corvidae. It is endemic to a small area of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Nayarit. A distinctive large jay, it has a prominent dark crest on its head; purplish blue back, wings, and face; a white spot above the eye and on the cheek; white undersides; and a partially white tail. Its typical call is a quick, four-note vocalization. The relationship between the tufted jay and other members of the genus Cyanocorax has been a subject of interest since the species was first described in 1935. Because of the visual similarities between the tufted jay and the white-tailed jay, the two were thought by some to be closely related. A 2010 mitochondrial DNA study has shown that the tufted jay is most closely related to a group of South American jays, despite their ranges being separated by over 2,000 km (1,200 mi).
Wikipedia contributors, Tufted jay; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:02:54.586546+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyanocorax dickeyi R. T. Moore, 1935
- Name authority
- R. T. Moore, 1935
- Common name
- Tufted Jay
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Cyanocorax
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae Leach, 1820
- genusCyanocorax F. Boie, 1826
- speciesCyanocorax dickeyi R. T. Moore, 1935
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cyanocorax. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-naped JayCyanocorax cyanopogon (Wied-M. Neuwied, 1821) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Azure-naped JayCyanocorax heilprini Gentry, 1885 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-tailed JayCyanocorax mystacalis (de Sparre, 1835) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yucatan JayCyanocorax yucatanicus (A. J. C. Dubois, 1875) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Violaceous JayCyanocorax violaceus Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated Magpie-JayCyanocorax formosus (Swainson, 1827) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-chested JayCyanocorax affinis Pelzeln, 1856 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Purplish-backed JayCyanocorax beecheii (Vigors, 1829) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cayenne JayCyanocorax cayanus (Linnaeus, 1766) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Plush-crested JayCyanocorax chrysops (Vieillot, 1818) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Curl-crested JayCyanocorax cristatellus (Temminck, 1823) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Purplish JayCyanocorax cyanomelas (Vieillot, 1818) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Moore, & Robert Thomas. (1935). A New Jay of the Genus Cyanocorax from Sinaloa, Mexico. The Auk, Vol. 52, No. 3. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:32NLL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.