NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Lidth's Jay
Garrulus lidthi Bonaparte, 1850
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Lidth's jay (Garrulus lidthi), also known as the Amami jay, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Measuring up to 38 cm (15 in) in total length, it is slightly larger than its close relative the Eurasian jay, with a proportionately stouter bill and also a longer tail. It has no discernible crest, with the head feathers a velvety black, the shoulders and back a deep purplish blue and all other parts a rich chestnut purple. This jay has a very restricted distribution occurring only on the southern Japanese islands of Amami Ōshima and Kakeromajima. It may have also been present on Tokunoshima. It occurs in subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests as well as in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed woodlands both in the lowlands and on the mountains. Food is largely made up of the nuts of the native chinkapin Castanopsis cuspidata but includes small reptiles and invertebrates of many types.
Wikipedia contributors, Lidth's jay; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:18:15.199908+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Garrulus lidthi Bonaparte, 1850
- Name authority
- Bonaparte, 1850
- Common name
- Lidth's Jay
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Garrulus
- 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
- genusGarrulus Brisson, 1760
- speciesGarrulus lidthi Bonaparte, 1850
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Garrulus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-headed JayGarrulus lanceolatus Vigors, 1831 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758) | 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.
- Bonaparte, & Carolo Luciano. (1850). Conspectus Generum Avium, Vol. 1. 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3FBSC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.