NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Beautiful Jay
Cyanolyca pulchra (Lawrence, 1876)
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
The beautiful jay (Cyanolyca pulchra) is a species of bird in the crow and jay family Corvidae. It is closely related to the azure-hooded jay, and the two species are considered sister species. The species is monotypic, having no subspecies. The specific name for the beautiful jay, pulchra, is Latin for "beautiful". It is found in Colombia and Ecuador, where its habitat includes humid montane forest and cloud forest. It can also be found around clearings and in secondary forest, but it is less common there. It often associates with watercourses and marshy areas within the forests. It ranges between 900–2,300 m (3,000–7,500 ft) above sea-level, but is most common between 1,400–1,800 m (4,600–5,900 ft). The beautiful jay is 27 cm (11 in) long and in the male predominantly cyan-blue, becoming sky-blue almost to white from the neck to the forehead,. It has a black mask on the face meeting up with the dark -grey across the breast. The legs and bill are black.
Wikipedia contributors, Beautiful jay; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:13:59.763120+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyanolyca pulchra (Lawrence, 1876)
- Name authority
- (Lawrence, 1876)
- Common name
- Beautiful Jay
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Cyanolyca
- 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
- genusCyanolyca Cabanis, 1851
- speciesCyanolyca pulchra (Lawrence, 1876)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cyanolyca. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Silvery-throated JayCyanolyca argentigula (Lawrence, 1875) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-collared JayCyanolyca armillata (G. R. Gray, 1845) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated JayCyanolyca mirabilis Nelson, 1903 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dwarf JayCyanolyca nanus (Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated JayCyanolyca pumilo (Strickland, 1849) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Turquoise JayCyanolyca turcosa (Bonaparte, 1853) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-collared JayCyanolyca viridicyanus (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Azure-hooded JayCyanolyca cucullata (Ridgway, 1885) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Cyanocitta pulchra Lawrence, 1876 Lawrence, 1876 | 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=559641 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:6BSQC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.