Steller's Jay

SCI Name:  Cyanocitta stelleri
Protonym:  Corvus stelleri Syst.Nat. 1 pt1 p.370
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Corvidae / Cyanocitta
Taxonomy Code:  stejay
Type Locality:  in Sinu Natka Americae borealis [= Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia].
Author:  Gmelin, JF
Publish Year:  1788
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CYANOCITTA
(Corvidae; Ϯ Blue Jay C. cristata) Gr. κυανος kuanos  dark-blue; κιττα kitta  jay; "The birds of which I have been treating appear to be in want of a generic name. They stand in the same relation to the South American genus Cyanocorax, typified by C. pileatus, and of which Cyanurus, Swains., is a synonym, which Garrulus bears to Corvus, being essentially Blue Jays, while the species pileatus, cristatellus, peruvianus, azureus, cyanopogon, and one or two others composing Cyanocorax, are Blue Crows.  Mr. G. R. Gray's genus Calocitta (typified by C. Bullocki, and perhaps including the Asiatic species erythrorhynchus) is distinguished by great length of tail, and there is consequently no generic name for these Blue Jays, which I would therefore propose to name Cyanocitta, taking C. cristata, Linn. sp., as the type, and including the species ultramarina Bonap., superciliosa, mihi, floridana, Bartram, stelleri, Pall., coronata, Swains., and probably a few others. The beak is much more slender, more depressed, amd the culmen straighter than in Cyanocorax." (Strickland 1845); "Cyanocitta Strickland, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 15, p. 261, 1845—type, by orig. desig., Corvus cristatus Linnaeus." (Hellmayr, 1934, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. VII, p. 59).
Synon. Cyanogarrulus, Lophocorax, Stellerocitta.

stelleri
Georg Wilhelm Steller (born Stöhler) (1709-1746) German naturalist, explorer in the Russian service, took part in Vitus Bering’s expedition to Russian America (= Alaska) 1740-1742 (Cyanocitta (ex “Steller’s Crow” of Latham 1781), Polysticta).

SUBSPECIES

Steller's Jay (Coastal)
SCI Name: Cyanocitta stelleri [stelleri Group]
CYANOCITTA
(Corvidae; Ϯ Blue Jay C. cristata) Gr. κυανος kuanos  dark-blue; κιττα kitta  jay; "The birds of which I have been treating appear to be in want of a generic name. They stand in the same relation to the South American genus Cyanocorax, typified by C. pileatus, and of which Cyanurus, Swains., is a synonym, which Garrulus bears to Corvus, being essentially Blue Jays, while the species pileatus, cristatellus, peruvianus, azureus, cyanopogon, and one or two others composing Cyanocorax, are Blue Crows.  Mr. G. R. Gray's genus Calocitta (typified by C. Bullocki, and perhaps including the Asiatic species erythrorhynchus) is distinguished by great length of tail, and there is consequently no generic name for these Blue Jays, which I would therefore propose to name Cyanocitta, taking C. cristata, Linn. sp., as the type, and including the species ultramarina Bonap., superciliosa, mihi, floridana, Bartram, stelleri, Pall., coronata, Swains., and probably a few others. The beak is much more slender, more depressed, amd the culmen straighter than in Cyanocorax." (Strickland 1845); "Cyanocitta Strickland, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 15, p. 261, 1845—type, by orig. desig., Corvus cristatus Linnaeus." (Hellmayr, 1934, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. VII, p. 59).
Synon. Cyanogarrulus, Lophocorax, Stellerocitta.

Steller's Jay (Interior)
SCI Name: Cyanocitta stelleri [diademata Group]
CYANOCITTA
(Corvidae; Ϯ Blue Jay C. cristata) Gr. κυανος kuanos  dark-blue; κιττα kitta  jay; "The birds of which I have been treating appear to be in want of a generic name. They stand in the same relation to the South American genus Cyanocorax, typified by C. pileatus, and of which Cyanurus, Swains., is a synonym, which Garrulus bears to Corvus, being essentially Blue Jays, while the species pileatus, cristatellus, peruvianus, azureus, cyanopogon, and one or two others composing Cyanocorax, are Blue Crows.  Mr. G. R. Gray's genus Calocitta (typified by C. Bullocki, and perhaps including the Asiatic species erythrorhynchus) is distinguished by great length of tail, and there is consequently no generic name for these Blue Jays, which I would therefore propose to name Cyanocitta, taking C. cristata, Linn. sp., as the type, and including the species ultramarina Bonap., superciliosa, mihi, floridana, Bartram, stelleri, Pall., coronata, Swains., and probably a few others. The beak is much more slender, more depressed, amd the culmen straighter than in Cyanocorax." (Strickland 1845); "Cyanocitta Strickland, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 15, p. 261, 1845—type, by orig. desig., Corvus cristatus Linnaeus." (Hellmayr, 1934, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. VII, p. 59).
Synon. Cyanogarrulus, Lophocorax, Stellerocitta.

Steller's Jay (Central American)
SCI Name: Cyanocitta stelleri [coronata Group]
CYANOCITTA
(Corvidae; Ϯ Blue Jay C. cristata) Gr. κυανος kuanos  dark-blue; κιττα kitta  jay; "The birds of which I have been treating appear to be in want of a generic name. They stand in the same relation to the South American genus Cyanocorax, typified by C. pileatus, and of which Cyanurus, Swains., is a synonym, which Garrulus bears to Corvus, being essentially Blue Jays, while the species pileatus, cristatellus, peruvianus, azureus, cyanopogon, and one or two others composing Cyanocorax, are Blue Crows.  Mr. G. R. Gray's genus Calocitta (typified by C. Bullocki, and perhaps including the Asiatic species erythrorhynchus) is distinguished by great length of tail, and there is consequently no generic name for these Blue Jays, which I would therefore propose to name Cyanocitta, taking C. cristata, Linn. sp., as the type, and including the species ultramarina Bonap., superciliosa, mihi, floridana, Bartram, stelleri, Pall., coronata, Swains., and probably a few others. The beak is much more slender, more depressed, amd the culmen straighter than in Cyanocorax." (Strickland 1845); "Cyanocitta Strickland, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 15, p. 261, 1845—type, by orig. desig., Corvus cristatus Linnaeus." (Hellmayr, 1934, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. VII, p. 59).
Synon. Cyanogarrulus, Lophocorax, Stellerocitta.