Cyanocitta is a genus of birds in the family Corvidae, a family which contains the crows, jays and magpies. Established by Hugh Edwin Strickland in 1845, it contains the following species:[1]

Cyanocitta
C. cristata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Cyanocitta
Strickland, 1845
Type species
Corvus cristatus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Distribution of the Cyanocitta jays in North America. Red: Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), black: Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). Dotted line: irregular wintering, dashed line: irregular breeding.
Genus CyanocittaStrickland, 1845 – two species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Blue jay

Cyanocitta cristata
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Four subspecies
  • C. c. bromia
  • C. c. cristata
  • C. c. cyanotephra
  • C. c. semplei
eastern and central United States, Newfoundland, Canada[2]
Map of range
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Steller's jay

Cyanocitta stelleri
(Gmelin, JF, 1788)

Thirteen subspecies
  • C. s. stelleri (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
  • C. s. carlottae Osgood, 1901
  • C. s. frontalis (Ridgway, 1873)
  • C. s. carbonacea Grinnell, 1900
  • C. s. annectens (Baird, SF, 1874)
  • C. s. macrolopha Baird, SF, 1854
  • C. s. diademata (Bonaparte, 1850)
  • C. s. phillipsi Browning, 1993
  • C. s. azteca Ridgway, 1899
  • C. s. coronata (Swainson, 1827)
  • C. s. purpurea Aldrich, 1944
  • C. s. restricta Phillips, AR, 1966
  • C. s. suavis Miller, W & Griscom, 1925
west of the Rocky Mountains
Map of range
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


The name Cyanocitta is a combination of the Greek words kuanos, meaning "dark blue", and kitta, meaning "jay".[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "ITIS Report: Cyanocitta". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. ^ Smith, Kimberley G.; Tarvin, Kevin A.; Woolfenden, Glen E. (2013-12-04). Poole, A. F. (ed.). "Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)". The Birds of North America Online. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bna.469. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Names. London, UK: Christopher Helm. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

External links edit