The magpie-jays are a genus, Calocitta, of the family Corvidae (crow-like birds) native to the southern part of North America. Sometimes placed in the genus Cyanocorax. The two known species are known to form hybrids.
| Magpie-jays | |
|---|---|
| |
| White-throated magpie-jay, Calocitta formosa | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Calocitta G.R. Gray, 1841 |
| Type species | |
| Pica formosa Swainson, 1827
| |
| Species | |
| |
The genus was introduced in 1841 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray with the white-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa) as the type species.[1][2] The name Calocitta combines the Ancient Greek kalos meaning "beautiful" and kitta meaning "jay".[3]
Species edit
The genus contains two species.[4]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Calocitta colliei | Black-throated magpie-jay | Mexico from southern Sonora south to Jalisco and northwestern Colima |
 |
Calocitta formosa | White-throated magpie-jay | Southeastern Mexico, western Guatemala, and Costa Rica |
References edit
- ^ Gray, George Robert (1841). A List of the Genera of Birds : with their Synonyma and an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus (2nd ed.). London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 50.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 228.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
