Corvidae

Common jay Garrulus glandarius, from here.

Belongs within: Corvoidea.
Contains: Corvus, Cyanocorax.

The Corvidae, crows, jays and magpies, are relatively large omnivorous passerines found worldwide. Historically, the family has been divided between the primarily black 'Corvinae' and the more colourful 'Garrulinae' but more recent analyses have not supported monophyly of either subgroup. The choughs of the genus Pyrrhocorax are two species with solidly black plumage but brightly coloured bill and feet found in alpine regions of Eurasia. Dendrocitta, the treepies, are long-tailed corvids with black, grey and rufous plumage found in tropical parts of Asia.

Characters (from Austin 1961): Bill strong, unnotched; nostrils usually covered by forward-directed bristles. Wings with ten primaries. Legs large and strong; tarsi scaled in front, smooth behind, terminating in a ridge.

<==Corvidae [Corvinae, Garrulinae, Monedulidae]
    |  i. s.: Cissilopha melanocyanea FS55
    |           |--C. m. melanocyanea FS55
    |           `--C. m. chavezi FS55
    |         Psilorhinus Rüppell 1837 B94
    |         Physocorax moneduloides S13
    |         Gazzola typica S13
    |--Miocitta galbreathi Brodkorb 1972 JM14, U93
    `--+--+--Pyrrhocorax Tunstall 1771 BKB15, M02 [incl. Fregilus Cuvier 1816 B94; Fregilidae, Pyrrhocoracidae]
       |  |    |--P. graculus (Linnaeus 1766) (see below for synonymy) M02
       |  |    `--P. pyrrhocorax (Linnaeus 1758) (see below for synonymy) M02
       |  `--+--Dendrocitta Gould 1833 BKB15, B94 [Dendrocittidae]
       |     |    |--D. bayleyi JT12
       |     |    |--D. formosae BKB15
       |     |    |--D. frontalis JT12
       |     |    |--D. himalayensis S89
       |     |    |--D. leucogastra JT12
       |     |    |--D. occipitalis JT12
       |     |    `--D. vagabunda JT12
       |     `--+--+--Platysmurus leucopterus BKB15
       |        |  `--Temnurus Lesson 1831 BKB15, B94 [Temnuridae]
       |        |       `--T. temnurus BKB15
       |        `--Crypsirina Vieillot 1816 BKB15, CC10 [=Cryptorhina Wagler 1827 CC10; Crypsirinidae]
       |             |--C. cucullata JT12
       |             |--C. formosae VP89
       |             |    |--C. f. formosae VP89
       |             |    `--C. f. sinica VP89
       |             |--C. temia BKB15
       |             `--C. varians (Lath. 1790) [=Corvus varians] W66
       `--+--+--Cissa Boie 1826 BKB15, B94 [Cissidae]
          |  |    |--C. chinensis BKB15
          |  |    |--C. hypoleuca JT12
          |  |    |--C. jefferyi HSS13
          |  |    |--C. ornata A61
          |  |    `--C. thalassina JT12
          |  `--Urocissa BKB15
          |       |--U. caerulea JT12
          |       |--U. erythrorhyncha (Gmel. 1788) [=Corvus erythrorhynchus; incl. U. sinensis Dav. & Oust. 1877] M01
          |       |--U. flavirostris JT12
          |       |--U. ornata JT12
          |       `--U. whiteheadi JT12
          `--+--+--Cyanopica BKB15
             |  |    |--C. cooki BKB15
             |  |    `--C. cyanus BKB15
             |  `--Perisoreus BKB15
             |       |--P. canadensis BKB15
             |       `--+--P. infaustus (Linné 1766) BKB15, M01 [=Lanius infaustus M01]
             |          `--P. internigrans BKB15
             `--+--+--Corvus BKB15
                |  `--+--+--Zavattariornis Moltoni 1938 BKB15, B94 [Zavattariornithidae]
                |     |  |    `--Z. stresemanni BKB15
                |     |  `--Pica Brisson 1760 BKB15, M02 [Picacidae]
                |     |       |--+--P. hudsonia BKB15
                |     |       |  `--P. nuttalli BKB15
                |     |       `--P. pica (Linnaeus 1758) BKB15, M02 [=Corvus pica M02]
                |     |            |--P. p. pica I92
                |     |            `--P. p. sericea Gould 1845 I92
                |     `--+--+--Ptilostomus afer BKB15
                |        |  `--Podoces BKB15
                |        |       |--P. biddulphi BKB15
                |        |       |--P. hendersoni BKB15
                |        |       |--P. panderi JT12
                |        |       `--P. pleskei JT12
                |        `--Garrulus Brisson 1760 BKB15, M02
                |             |--G. brandti Eversm. 1874 M01 [=G. glandarius brandtii T89]
                |             |--G. glandarius (Linnaeus 1758) [=Corvus glandarius] M02
                |             |    |--G. g. glandarius VP89
                |             |    `--G. g. sinensis VP89
                |             |--G. lanceolatus JT12
                |             |--G. leucotis S89
                |             `--G. lidthi Bonaparte 1850 I92
                `--+--Cyanolyca BKB15
                   |    |--+--+--C. argentigula BKB15
                   |    |  |  `--C. pumilo BKB15
                   |    |  `--+--C. mirabilis BKB15
                   |    |     `--C. nana JT12
                   |    `--+--+--C. cucullata BKB15
                   |       |  `--C. pulchra BKB15
                   |       `--+--C. armillata BKB15
                   |          `--+--C. turcosa BKB15
                   |             `--C. viridicyanus BKB15
                   `--+--Cyanocorax BKB15
                      `--+--Cyanocitta Strickland 1845 BKB15, B94 [Cyanocittidae]
                         |    |--C. cristata B62
                         |    |    |--C. c. cristata B62
                         |    |    |--C. c. bromia B62
                         |    |    `--C. c. burleighi Bond 1962 B62
                         |    |--C. stelleri BKB15
                         |    `--C. ultramarina FP64
                         `--+--Gymnorhinus Maximillian 1841 BKB15, C84
                            |    `--G. cyanocephalus BKB15
                            `--Aphelocoma Cabanis 1851 BKB15, B94 [Aphelocomidae]
                                 |--A. unicolor BKB15
                                 `--+--+--A. wollweberi BKB15
                                    |  `--+--A. potosina BKB15
                                    |     `--A. ultramarina BKB15
                                    `--+--+--A. coerulescens BKB15
                                       |  `--A. insularis BKB15
                                       `--+--A. californica BKB15
                                          `--+--A. sumichrasti BKB15
                                             `--A. woodhouseii BKB15

Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linnaeus 1766) [=Corvus graculus; incl. P. graculus vetus Kretzoi in Mourer-Chauviré 1975] M02

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax (Linnaeus 1758) [=Upupa pyrrhocorax; incl. P. pyrrhocorax primigenius Milne-Edwards 1875] M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[B62] Bond, G. M. 1962. A new blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) from Newfoundland. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 75: 205–206.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[C84] Compagno, L. J. V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue vol. 4. Sharks of the World: An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2—Carcharhiniformes. United Nations Development Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome.

[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1–2): 9–19.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[HSS13] Hirschfeld, E., A. Swash & R. Still. 2013. The World's Rarest Birds. Princeton University Press: Princeton (New Jersey).

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[JM14] Jarvis, E. D., S. Mirarab, A. J. Aberer, B. Li, P. Houde, C. Li, S. Y. W. Ho, B. C. Faircloth, B. Nabholz, J. T. Howard, A. Suh, C. C. Weber, R. R. de Fonseca, J. Li, F. Zhang, H. Li, L. Zhou, N. Narula, L. Liu, G. Ganapathy, B. Boussau, M. S. Bayzid, V. Zavidovych, S. Subramanian, T. Gabaldón, S. Capella-Gutiérrez, J. Huerta-Cepas, B. Rekepalli, K. Munch, M. Schierup, B. Lindow, W. C. Warren, D. Ray, R. E. Green, M. W. Bruford, X. Zhan, A. Dixon, S. Li, N. Li, Y. Huang, E. P. Derryberry, M. F. Bertelsen, F. H. Sheldon, R. T. Brumfield, C. V. Mello, P. V. Lovell, M. Wirthlin, M. P. Cruz Schneider, F. Prosdocimi, J. A. Samaniego, A. M. Vargas Velazquez, A. Alfaro-Núñez, P. F. Campos, B. Petersen, T. Sitcheritz-Ponten, A. Pas, T. Bailey, P. Scofield, M. Bunce, D. M. Lambert, Q. Zhou, P. Perelman, A. C. Driskell, B. Shapiro, Z. Xiong, Y. Zeng, S. Liu, Z. Li, B. Liu, K. Wu, J. Xiao, X. Yinqi, Q. Zheng, Y. Zhang, H. Yang, J. Wang, L. Smeds, F. E. Rheindt, M. Braun, J. Fjeldså, L. Orlando, F. K. Barker, K. A. Jønsson, W. Johnson, K.-P. Koepfli, S. O'Brien, D. Haussler, O. A. Ryder, C. Rahbek, E. Willerslev, G. R. Graves, T. C. Glenn, J. McCormack, D. Burt, H. Ellegren, P. Alström, S. V. Edwards, A. Stamatakis, D. P. Mindell, J. Cracraft, E. L. Braun, T. Warnow, W. Jun, M. T. P. Gilbert & G. Zhang. 2014. Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds. Science 346 (6215): 1320–1331.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[M01] Madarász, J. 1901. Madarak [Vögel]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 21–39. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[S89] Salvadori, T. 1889. Viaggio di Leonardo Fea nella Birmania e nelle regioni vicine. XIX.—Uccelli raccolti nei Monti Carin a nord-est di Tounghoo, nel Pegù presso Rangoon e Tounghoo e nel Tenasserim presso Malewoon. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2^a, 7: 369–438.

[S13] Sarasin, F. 1913. Die Vögel Neu-Caledoniens und der Loyalty-Inseln. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 1 pp. 1–78, pls 1–3. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[T89] Takeshita, N. 1989. Nihon no Yachoo. Kogakukan: Tokyo.

[U93] Unwin, D. M. 1993. Aves. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 717–737. Chapman & Hall: London.

[VP89] Viney, C., & K. Phillipps. 1989. Birds of Hong Kong 5^th ed. Government Printer: Hong Kong.

[W66] Walden, A. 1866. Notes on birds collected in Tennasserim and in the Andaman Islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 537–556.

Last updated: 19 March 2022.