NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-tailed Jay
Cyanocorax mystacalis (de Sparre, 1835)
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.
White-tailed Jay (Cyanocorax mystacalis)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The white-tailed jay (Cyanocorax mystacalis), also known as the moustached jay, is a species of bird in the crow family Corvidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. It has a black face with white spots above and below the eyes, and a small white moustachial stripe. It has a white nape, belly, and underparts. Its back and wings are greyish-blue, extending most of the way down the tail. The rectrices and tail tip are white. It has several calls, the most common being described as "cha-cha-cha-cha". The white-tailed jay was first described by the French ornithologist Louis Ernest Gustave de Sparre in 1835 and was given the scientific name Pica mystacalis. It was later placed in the genus Cyanocorax. It is visually very similar to the tufted jay, which is found in Mexico over 4,800 km (3,000 mi) away, and the two species were incorrectly thought to be close relatives. The white-tailed jay's relationship to others in the genus Cyanocorax is still unclear.
Wikipedia contributors, White-tailed jay; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:49:35.007983+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyanocorax mystacalis (de Sparre, 1835)
- Name authority
- (de Sparre, 1835)
- Common name
- White-tailed 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 mystacalis (de Sparre, 1835)
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 |
| 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 |
| Tufted JayCyanocorax dickeyi R. T. Moore, 1935 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Pica mystacalis de Sparre, 1835 de Sparre, 1835 | 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=559630 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:32NLR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.