The black-collared jay (Cyanolyca armillata) is a species of bird in the family Corvidae, the crows and jays. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

The black-collared jay was originally described in 1845 as Cyanocorax armillatus. The book covers the years 1844 to 1849 and was printed in 1849. It and several other species were later moved to their current genus Cyanolyca. The black-collared jay and the turquoise jay (Cyanolyca turcosa) were for a time treated as subspecies of the white-collared jay (C. viridicyanus) but they were separated beginning in the 1950s.dos Anjos, L., H. F. Greeney, J. del Hoyo, G. M. Kirwan, and N. Collar (2022). Black-collared Jay (Cyanolyca armillata), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blcjay2.01.1 retrieved 9 December 2025

The black-collared jay's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and the Clements taxonomy assign it these three subspecies:AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025 retrieved 11 June 2025Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2025. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2025. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved 3 November 2025

Cyanolyca armillata armillata (Gray, 1845) Cyanolyca armillata meridana Sclater & Salvin, 1876 Cyanolyca armillata quindiuna Sclater & Salvin, 1876

However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treats quindiuna as a separate species, the Quindio jay, and retains the English name "black-collared jay" for the other two subspecies.HBW and BirdLife International (2025). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 10. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/about-our-science/taxonomy#birdlife-s-taxonomic-checklist retrieved 12 October 2025 Clements does recognize the taxon within the species as the "black-collared jay (Quindio)". At least one nineteenth centur author called the taxon Xanthura quindiuna.Sharpe, R. B. (1877). "Catalogue of the Passeriformes, or Perching Birds, in the Collection of the British Museum. Volume 3. Coliomorphae, containing the families Corvidae, Paradiseidae [sic], Oriolidae, Dicruridae, and Prionopidae". Trustees of the British Museum, London, UK.

This article follows the one-species, three-subspecies model.

Description

The black-collared jay is long and weighs about . The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies C. a. armillata have a violaceous-blue crown and nape. Their forehead, lores, and sides of the head are black. Their throat and middle of the upper breast are ultramarine with a thin black border that connects to the rear of the black face. Most of the rest of their plumage is cyan-blue. The inner edges of their primaries are dark brown and the undersides of their wings and tail are blackish. Subspecies C. a. meridana is slightly darker and more purplish blue than the nominate. C. a. quindiuna is larger than the nominate. Its crown and nape are darker (more similar to its back color) and its body, wings, and tail have a greenish tinge. Juveniles are duller than adults and have a grayer throat and more grayish body feathers that have blue only on their tips. All subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the black-collared jay are found thus:

Cyanolyca armillata armillata: Andes from southern Táchira in western Venezuela south in Colombia's Eastern Andes to Cundinamarca Department Cyanolyca armillata meridana: Andes of western Venezuela from northern Táchira north through Mérida into Trujillo Cyanolyca armillata quindiuna: primarily in Colombia's Central Andes from Antioquia Department south slightly into northern Ecuador; also in Colombia at northern end of the Western Andes and the Eastern Andes north to Huila Department

The black-collared jay inhabits the interior and edges of cloudforest, elfin forest, and mature secondary forest, especially in areas with much bamboo and tree ferns. In elevation it ranges between in Venezuela and Colombia and between in Ecuador.

Behavior Movement

The black-collared jay is a year-round resident.

Feeding

The black-collared jay feeds mostly on insects and also includes some fruits in its diet. It typically forages in pairs or small flocks and sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages mostly in the forest's subcanopy and canopy.

Breeding

Nothing is known about the black-collared jay's breeding biology.

Vocalization

The black-collared jay has a large repertoire of vocalizations which are generally "short and often musical notes, including ‘falsetto’ notes". They include "a rising, almost twanging hrwee, various shrill rising and falling notes, a sharp, stuttered jet-jtjtjtjt, a low guttural wowr, and a soft, liquid craa [and also a] schree, in alarm a sharp staccato upward-inflected reek!, a soft chattered croooh, and a peep".

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has separately assessed the black-collared jay sensu stricto (armillata + meridana) and the "Quindio jay" (quindiuna). Both have large ranges. The size of neither population is known but both are believed to be stable. No immediate threats to either has been identified. "Forested habitat within the [two ranges] is currently not at risk, as tree cover loss is very low." The black-collared jay is considered uncommon in Venezuela, fairly common in Colombia, and "very rare and apparently local" in Ecuador. It is found in at least one protected area in Venezuela and several in Colombia.

References