White-throated Magpie-jay

📋Detailed Description

The White-throated Magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa) is a large, conspicuous member of the family Corvidae, measuring 43–56 cm (17–22 in) in length, with the tail accounting for more than half of its total length. Adults display a striking plumage pattern: a bright blue mantle, wings, and tail, contrasted by a white face, throat, and underparts, with a distinctive black necklace across the chest and a prominent, elongated crest of blue-black feathers atop the head. Sexual dimorphism is subtle, with females typically exhibiting a narrower black chest band and slightly shorter crests. The species is highly vocal, producing a wide repertoire of calls, including harsh squawks, whistles, and melodious notes, which serve both social and territorial functions. White-throated Magpie-jays are extremely gregarious, forming stable social groups often composed of a dominant breeding pair and several helpers, which are usually offspring from previous years. Their intelligence is notable, with behaviors such as cooperative breeding, complex problem-solving, and opportunistic foraging. These birds are omnivorous, feeding on a varied diet of fruits, seeds, insects, small vertebrates, and even eggs or nestlings of other birds. They are agile and acrobatic, foraging both in trees and on the ground, and are known to exploit human-provided food sources. The species is adapted to a range of habitats, from tropical dry forests and thorn scrub to secondary growth and agricultural edges, and is especially abundant in disturbed or fragmented landscapes.