NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Bushy-crested Jay
Cyanocorax melanocyaneus (Hartlaub, 1844)
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.
Bushy-crested Jay (Cyanocorax melanocyaneus) Dysmorodrepanis 20:27, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
dominic sherony · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The bushy-crested jay (Cyanocorax melanocyaneus) is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in Central America, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest. There are two subspecies, C. m. melanocyaneus which is found in Guatemala and southern El Salvador, and C. m. chavezi from Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua.
Wikipedia contributors, Bushy-crested jay; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:17:21.470121+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyanocorax melanocyaneus (Hartlaub, 1844)
- Name authority
- (Hartlaub, 1844)
- Common name
- Bushy-crested 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 melanocyaneus (Hartlaub, 1844)
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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Garrulus melanocyaneus Hartlaub, 1844 Hartlaub, 1844 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=559629 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:32NLP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.