Systematics

Xanthoura luxuosa speciosa Nelson, 1900, Auk 17:265.—San Sebastián, Jalisco, Mexico. (42 Nelson, E. W. (1900) Descriptions of thirty new North American birds, in the Biological Survey collection. Auk 17(3):253–270. Close )

The holotype, an adult male collected on 13 March 1897 by Edward William Nelson (1855–1934) and Edward Alphonso Goldman (1873–1946), is held at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (USNM 156055; 43 Deignan, H. G. (1961). Type specimens of birds in the United States National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 221:1–718. Close ).

Pacific slope of Mexico from northwest Nayarit to southern Jalisco.

This subspecies is considered to be large and brightly colored, with a brown iris, forecrown yellowish, and underparts quite intense sulfur yellow (J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ). Treated as a phylogenetic species by Peterson and Navarro Sigüenza (44 Peterson, A. T., and A. G. Navarro Sigüenza (2000). Western Mexico: a significant centre of avian endemism and challenge for conservation action. Cotinga 14:42–46. Close ).

Xanthoura luxuosa vivida Ridgway, 1900, Auk 17:28.—Pluma, Oaxaca [Mexico]. (45 Ridgway, R. (1900). New species, etc., of American birds.—V. Corvidae. Auk 17(1):27–29. Close )

The holotype, an adult male collected on 20 March 1895 by Edward William Nelson (1855–1934) and Edward Alphonso Goldman (1873–1946), is held at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (USNM 144810; 43 Deignan, H. G. (1961). Type specimens of birds in the United States National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 221:1–718. Close ).

Pacific slope of southwest Mexico (Colima) to western Guatemala.

Similar to luxuosus but considered to be slightly larger with brighter yellow rear underparts, a blue-tinged tail, and yellow irides (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).

Garrulus luxuosus Lesson, 1839, Revue Zoologique 2:100.—Mexico.

The holotype of Lesson’s name was said by him to be in the possession of a Dr. Abeillé who, in the original description of the Emerald-chinned Hummingbird (Abeillia abeillei), revealed it was a resident of Bordeaux at this time; the person honored was Dr. Grégoire Abeillé (1798‒1848; 46 Jobling, J. A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. A. & C. Black, London, UK. Close ), and a catalog of his private collection numbering ~1,500 specimens (of which approximately 100 involved types described by Lesson) was published, presumably in anticipation of it being sold, two years later, in 1850 (47 Richmond, C. W. (1908). Recent Literature. Rothschild’s ‘Extinct Birds’. Auk 25(2):238–240. Close ). The suggestion that the person concerned was the botanist and horticulturalist Paul-Emmanuel Abeille de Perrin (1797‒1868; 48 Beolens, B., M. Watkins, and M. Grayson (2014). The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK. Close ) is quite erroneous. Its current whereabouts, if the specimen still exists, is unknown.

Synonyms:
C[yanocorax]. cyanocapillus Cabanis in von Tschudi, 1846, Untersuchungen über die Fauna Peruana, Ornithologie, p. 233.—Xalapa [= Jalapa Enríquez, Veracruz, Mexico; 19°34’N, 96°54’W]. Cabanis referred to “several” birds in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB) from Xalapa; Steinheimer (49 Steinheimer, F. D. (2009). The type specimens of Corvidae (Aves) in the Museum für Naturkunde at the Humboldt-University of Berlin, with the description of a new subspecies of Dendrocitta vagabunda. Zootaxa 2149(1):1–49. Close ) noted that ZMB 1521, which is now labeled only “Mexico,” was nevertheless certainly one of this name’s syntypes, to which list he added ZMB 1522 (a male) and ZMB 1523 (sex/age unknown) both from Xalapa and believed to have been collected in January 1825 (50 Stresemann, E. (1954). Ferdinand Deppe’s travels in Mexico, 1824–1829. Condor 56(2):86–92. Close ) by Graf Sebastian Albert Freiherr von Sack (1757–1829) and Ferdinand Deppe (1794–1861; 49 Steinheimer, F. D. (2009). The type specimens of Corvidae (Aves) in the Museum für Naturkunde at the Humboldt-University of Berlin, with the description of a new subspecies of Dendrocitta vagabunda. Zootaxa 2149(1):1–49. Close ).

Xanthoura luxuosa glaucescens Ridgway, 1900, Auk 17:28.—Fort Brown [= Brownsville, Cameron County], Texas (45 Ridgway, R. (1900). New species, etc., of American birds.—V. Corvidae. Auk 17(1):27–29. Close ). [Forth Brown in 28 Blake, E. R., and C. Vaurie (1962). Family Corvidae, crows and jays. In Check-list of Birds of the World, Volume 15 (E. Mayr and J. C. Greenway, Editors), Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA, USA. pp. 204–282. Close is clearly a misprint.] The holotype, an adult male collected on 30 March 1876 by J. C. Merrill, is held at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (USNM 70593; 43 Deignan, H. G. (1961). Type specimens of birds in the United States National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 221:1–718. Close ). This subspecies was accepted by, among others, Madge and Burn (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Gayou (24 Gayou, D. C. (1995). Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas). In The Birds of North America, No. 187 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Editors), Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close ), Dickinson and Christidis (36 Dickinson, E. C., and L. Christidis, Editors (2014). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth Edition. Volume 2. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ), and del Hoyo and Collar (37 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), with its distribution generally believed to encompass southern Texas (USA) and northeast Mexico in western Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Madge and Burn (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) considered it slightly paler and duller than luxuosus, with dark brown irides and blackish legs.

Cyanocorax yncas persimilis A. R. Phillips, 1966, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86:111.—2 km north of Ocotal Chico, near Cerro Santa Marta, southeastern Veracruz (51 Phillips, A. R. (1966). Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86(6):103–112. Close ). Known from two syntypes, an immature (perhaps male) and an adult female collected by Florentino Francisco R. on 11 December 1962, originally in the Allan Robert Phillips (1914–1996) collection and now at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, Greenville (DMNH 21898 and DMNH 21899, respectively; 51 Phillips, A. R. (1966). Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86(6):103–112. Close , 52 Dickerman, R. W., and K. C. Parkes (1997). Taxa described by Allan R. Phillips, 1939–1994: a critical list. In The Era of Allan R. Phillips: A Festschrift (R. W. Dickerman, Editor), Horizon Communications, Albuquerque, NM, USA. pp. 211–234. Close ). Phillips (51 Phillips, A. R. (1966). Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86(6):103–112. Close ) characterized this taxon by its more purplish-blue head, especially the sides and nasal tufts, and averaging marginally darker, less yellowish, more green, dorsally.

Southern Texas (Rio Grande Valley) to eastern Mexico (northeast Puebla and Veracruz).

Typical of Middle American subspecies in having a short blue frontal tuft, blue crown and nape, greenish-yellow underparts becoming yellower towards the vent; brown legs and dark irides (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ). This subspecies is reported to intergrade with vividus in the southeast Sierra de Tuxtlas and Catemaco region of southern Veracruz (52 Dickerman, R. W., and K. C. Parkes (1997). Taxa described by Allan R. Phillips, 1939–1994: a critical list. In The Era of Allan R. Phillips: A Festschrift (R. W. Dickerman, Editor), Horizon Communications, Albuquerque, NM, USA. pp. 211–234. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close , 37 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Xanthoura luxuosa centralis van Rossem, 1934, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:397.—Secanquim, Alta Vera Paz, Guatemala. (53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close )

The holotype, an adult male collected by A. W. Anthony on 15 January 1926, is held at the University of California Los Angeles Donald R. Dickey Bird and Mammal Collection (UCLA 31838; 53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close ).

Synonym:

Cyanocorax yncas confusus A. R. Phillips, 1966, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86:111.—4 and 6 km east of Pijijiapan, Chiapas (51 Phillips, A. R. (1966). Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86(6):103–112. Close ). Known from two syntypes, an immature (perhaps female) and an immature female collected by Abraham Ramírez V. on 15 November 1964 and 6 October 1965, respectively, originally in the Allan Robert Phillips (1914–1996) collection and now at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, Greenville (DMNH 21933 and DMNH 18418, respectively; 51 Phillips, A. R. (1966). Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86(6):103–112. Close , 52 Dickerman, R. W., and K. C. Parkes (1997). Taxa described by Allan R. Phillips, 1939–1994: a critical list. In The Era of Allan R. Phillips: A Festschrift (R. W. Dickerman, Editor), Horizon Communications, Albuquerque, NM, USA. pp. 211–234. Close ). Phillips (51 Phillips, A. R. (1966). Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 86(6):103–112. Close ) described confusus as differing from vividus by its smaller size, yellow irides (except in juveniles?), and by being slightly darker above and, especially, on the head sides.

Southeastern Mexico (extreme eastern Tabasco and adjacent parts of Chiapas east through extreme southern Quintana Roo), northern and eastern Guatemala, Belize, and northern Honduras.

Has the underparts yellow or yellowish, tinged lime-green (occasionally approaching luxuosus; 40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).

Xanthoura luxuosa maya van Rossem, 1934, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:397.—Río Lagartos, Yucatan. (53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close )

The holotype, an adult female collected by Wilmot Wood Brown (1870?–1953) on 1 June 1893, is held at the Museum for Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA (MCZ 115266) (53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close , 54 Peters, J. L. (1943). First supplement to the list of types of birds now in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy 92:53–118. Close ).

Synonym:

Xanthoura luxuosa cozumelae van Rossem, 1934, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:397.—Cozumel Island, off the coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico (53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close ). The holotype is an unsexed adult collected in January 1886 (not 1866, as sometimes reported) by George Franklin Gaumer (1850‒1929), and held in the Natural History Museum, Tring (NHMUK 1886.9.9.862; 53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close , 55 Warren, R. L. M., and C. J. O. Harrison (1971). Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume 2. Passerines. British Museum (Natural History), London, UK. Close ). Subspecies maintained by Madge and Burn (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and J. M. Marzluff in dos Anjos (41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ). Madge and Burn (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) characterized this subspecies as small with a pale blue crown and bright yellow underparts.

Southeastern Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula) and extreme southern Quintana Roo.

Characterized by its pale but bright (sulfur-)yellow underparts and white forecrown (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).

Xanthoura yncas galeata Ridgway, 1900, Auk 17:27.—Western Colombia (45 Ridgway, R. (1900). New species, etc., of American birds.—V. Corvidae. Auk 17(1):27–29. Close ) [= El Edén, 8,300 ft, Central Andes (Tolima side), suggested by Chapman (56 Chapman, F. M. (1917). The distribution of bird-life in Colombia: a contribution to a biological survey of South America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 36:1–729. Close )].

The holotype, an adult (sex unknown) purchased in December 1878 from J. Wallace by Robert Ridgway, is held at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (USNM 81879; 43 Deignan, H. G. (1961). Type specimens of birds in the United States National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 221:1–718. Close ).

Subtropical zone of Colombia west of East Andes, including the West Andes south to Valle; the Central Andes; and the west slope of the East Andes.

Similar to the nominate subspecies but has yellow irides (brown in Colombian populations of yncas) and a larger frontal crest (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).

Xanthoura yncas var. cyanodorsalis A. J. C. Dubois, 1874, Bulletins de l’Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique (2)38:492—“Nouvelle Grenade” [= Colombia].

In the original description, Alphonse Joseph Charles Dubois (1839–1921) mentioned that he had two specimens (syntypes) of cyanodorsalis; both are adults, were supplied by the natural history dealer Emile Parzudaki, and are held in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels (RBINS 3086 and RBINS 3087; O. Pauwels in litt. to G. M. Kirwan, August 2023).

East slope of East Andes of Colombia (Norte de Santander to Cundinamarca) and northwest Venezuela (Zulia and southern Lara to Barinas).

Considered to be smaller than galeatus, with a large deep blue frontal crest, narrow white band on forecrown, deep blue crown and hindneck, darker green upperparts (washed blue, especially in worn plumage), and legs darker; irides yellow (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).

Xanthoura yncas andicola Hellmayr and von Seilern, 1912, Archiv für Naturgeschichte Abteilung A 78(5):72.—El Walle, Mérida, western Venezuela. (57 Hellmayr, C. E., and J. von Seilern (1912) Beiträge zur Ornithologie von Venezuela. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 78A:34–166. Close )

The holotype, an adult male collected on 11 November 1897 by Salomón Briceño Gabaldón (1826‒1912), is held in the Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM 1909.3422; 57 Hellmayr, C. E., and J. von Seilern (1912) Beiträge zur Ornithologie von Venezuela. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 78A:34–166. Close ). Hellmayr (25 Hellmayr, C. E. (1934). Catalogue of Birds of the Americas and the Adjacent Islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Part 7. Corvidae, Paridae, Sittidae, Certhiiidae, Chamaeidae, Cinclidae, Troglodytidae, Prunellidae, Mimidae, Turdidae, Zeledoniidae, Sylviidae. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 330. Zoological Series 13. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA. Close ) himself subsequently repudiated andicolus, possibly because it had been originally described through misidentification of western Colombian galeatus as cyanodorsalis, but Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) thought that it was, after all, probably valid.

Mountains of northern Venezuela.

Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) was tempted to admit andicolus as valid, being close to guatimalensis, but the frontal crest averages slightly longer, the white post-frontal band is always well developed, and the bill is heavier, at least in most cases.

Xanthoura guatimalensis Bonaparte, 1850, Conspectus Generum Avium, Tome 1, p. 380.—Guatemala; error [= Caracas, Venezuela, fide van Rossem (53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close )], but Bonaparte’s mistake was earlier noticed by Schlegel (58 Schlegel, H. (1867). Muséum d’Histoire naturelle des Pays-Bas. Revue méthodique et critique des collections déposées dans cet établissement, Tome 1. Monographie 32: Coraces. E. J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands. Close ) and also by Sclater (59 Sclater, P. L. (1879). Note on the American crows of the subgenus Xanthura. Ibis (4)3:87–89. Close ).

This name is based on two syntypes: an adult labeled as being supplied by Reinhart Frans Cornelis van Lansberge (1804‒1873) that is held in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden (RMNH.AVES.90618; 60 Dekker, R. W. R. J., and C. Quaisser (2006). Type specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 3. Passerines: Pachycephalidae-Corvidae (Peters’s sequence). NNM Technical Bulletin 9, Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands. Close ); the other was said to be in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels (60 Dekker, R. W. R. J., and C. Quaisser (2006). Type specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 3. Passerines: Pachycephalidae-Corvidae (Peters’s sequence). NNM Technical Bulletin 9, Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands. Close ), but cannot currently be located there (O. Pauwels in litt. to G. M. Kirwan, August 2023). Often dated from 1851 (see, e.g., 28 Blake, E. R., and C. Vaurie (1962). Family Corvidae, crows and jays. In Check-list of Birds of the World, Volume 15 (E. Mayr and J. C. Greenway, Editors), Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA, USA. pp. 204–282. Close ), but we follow Zimmer (61 Zimmer, J. T. (1926). Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History, Zoology Series 16:1–364. Close ), Dickinson and Christidis (36 Dickinson, E. C., and L. Christidis, Editors (2014). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth Edition. Volume 2. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ), and del Hoyo and Collar (37 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) in using 1850.

Synonym:

Xanthoura yncas var. caeruleocephala A. J. C. Dubois, 1874, Bulletins de l’Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique (2)38:493.—“Venezuela” [= Caracas]. This name was based on a single specimen in what is now the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels (RBINS 3088; O. Pauwels in litt. to G. M. Kirwan, August 2023).

Mountains of northern Venezuela (Falcón east to Sucre and Anzoátegui).

Considered to be most similar to cyanodorsalis, but has a shorter crest, with less blue wash on the upperparts, and an even narrower white band on the forecrown; irides yellow and legs brownish (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).

Corvus yncas Boddaert, 1783, Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D’Aubenton, p. 38; based on Daubenton, Planches enluminées d’histoire naturelle, Plate 625.—Peru; type locality restricted by Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) to Chilpes, Dept. Junín.

The holotype of this name is the bird illustrated in Daubenton’s plate, but no specimen that can be identified with the latter is known to be extant in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris.

Synonyms:

[Corvus] peruvianus J. F. Gmelin, 1788, Systema Naturae, Tomus 1, p. 373; based on Daubenton, Planches enluminées d’histoire naturelle, Plate 625.—Peru; type locality restricted by Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) to Chilpes, Dept. Junín.

P[ica]. Chloronotos Wagler, 1827, Systema Avium, genus Pica [= signature 21, p. (9)].—Peru; type locality restricted by Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) to Chilpes, Dept. Junín. Described from a specimen apparently in the property of the natural history dealers Ryals and Leadbeater, London. Van Rossem (53 van Rossem, A. J. (1934). Critical notes on Middle American birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77:387–490. Close ) apparently believed that this name referred to a composite, of which the main part could be applied to Venezuelan birds (herein guatimalensis), but he later accepted that this was a false premise (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ). With hindsight, van Rossem seems to have engaged in nomenclatural gymnastics solely out of a desire not to apply a geographically inappropriate name (coined for what was believed to be a Central American bird), when such issues are commonplace in zoology.

Pica luteola Lesson, 1831, Traité d‘Ornithologie, Livraison 5, p. 331.—type locality said to be unknown. The holotype, a specimen reportedly from Peru (which can thus be considered terra typica) presented by Mn. Agasson (also reported as Ajassou), is held in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (MNHN-ZO-2011-565; 62 Voisin, C., and J.-F. Voisin (2016). List of type specimens of birds in the collections of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France). 26. Ptilonorhynchidae, Paradisaeidae and Corvidae. Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series 185(6):37–64. Close ); Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ), on the authority of Berlioz, was doubtful that the specimen was the type of Lesson’s name, but it is nonetheless currently afforded holotype status. To stabilize nomenclature in favor of Carriker’s at the time recent erection of subspecies longirostris, Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) restricted the type locality of luteola to Cajamarquilla, Dept. Pasco (formerly Junín, Peru).

C[yanocorax]. peruanus Cabanis in Tschudi, 1846, Untersuchungen über die Fauna Peruana, Aves, p. 232.—Peru. Name (which is an unnecessary of emendation of peruvianus, see above) was credited to Tschudi by Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ), but authorship should be clearly accorded to Cabanis, like other novel nomina in the same work.

Southwestern Colombia (subtropical zone, in valleys of upper Cauca, Patía, and San Miguel, in Cauca and Nariño) south through eastern Ecuador and Peru to central Bolivia (La Paz, Cochabamba, and western Santa Cruz).

Xanthoura yncas longirostris Carriker, 1933, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 85:30.—Soquián, 8,000 ft., Marañón Valley, Prov. Huamachuco, Dept. [La] Libertad, Peru. (63 Carriker, M. A. (1933). Descriptions of new birds from Peru, with notes on other little-known species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 85:1–38. Close )

The holotype, an adult male collected by Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, Jr. (1879–1965) on 18 June 1932, is held at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University, Philadelphia (ANSP 108083; 63 Carriker, M. A. (1933). Descriptions of new birds from Peru, with notes on other little-known species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 85:1–38. Close ).

Zimmer (27 Zimmer, J. (1953). Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 65. The jays (Corvidae) and pipits (Motacillidae). American Museum Novitates 1649:1–27. Close ) described this subspecies as “unsatisfactory but has just enough average distinction from the general series of yncas (from Ecuador to Bolivia) to give it a place”, and as a result it has been maintained ever since.

Arid upper valley of Río Marañón, in northern Peru.

Generally very similar to the nominate subspecies but is larger; irides yellow (40 Madge, S., and H. Burn (1994). Crows and Jays: a Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , J. M. Marzluff in 41 dos Anjos, L. (2009). Family Corvidae (crows). In Handbook of the birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows (del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott and D. A. Christie), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 494–640. Close ).