Curl-crested Jay
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[Photo] Curl-crested Jay (Cyanocorax cristatellus). Date December 2004. Photo by Maria Bedacht

The Curl-crested Jay (Cyanocorax cristatellus) is a South American jay, a beautiful and large (35cm) bird with predominantly dark blue back, almost black head and neck and snow white chest and underparts. The male has a pronounced curled crest rising from just behind his beak.

Curl-crested Jays are native to the cerrados of central and southern, and the caatinga of north eastern Brazil. They can also be found in extreme northern Paraguay. They are at present expanding their range.

The bird is a generalist, eating almost anything, including eggs and nestlings of other birds, insects, arthropods and small vertebrates like geckos. It also likes palm nuts and is particularly fond of the fruit of the Inga laurina (ice cream bean) and Schefflera actinophylla (Umbrella tree) (personal observations).

They live in groups of from 6 to 12 individuals, moving from food source to food source during the day. They always leave a lookout nearby to keep watch for predators.

The voice is loud, gray, graa, gray-gray-gray, sometimes repeated 8-10 times (Helmut Sick). They are often mistaken for crows because their calls are similar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curl-crested_Jay

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