The Story
I photographed this Black-chested Jay (Cyanocorax affinis) at Spa Ambiental Turística Los Alpes in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. It is about 34 centimeters long and easy to recognize by its facial pattern and yellow eyes. Its head, face and chest are mostly black, with violet-blue spots above and below the eye. Its natural habitats include dry forest, moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest. It is found in Colombia, northwestern Venezuela, Panama and far eastern Costa Rica. Males and females look alike. Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, sits on the Central Andes between the Combeima Canyon and the Magdalena valley, near Nevado del Tolima.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. IUCN lists the Black-chested Jay as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-chested Jay (Cyanocorax affinis) belongs to the family Corvidae (Crows, Jays, and Magpies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List