The Story
I made this photo of a Violaceous Jay (Cyanocorax violaceus) at El Escondite Reserva Natural in Villagarzón, Putumayo, Colombia. Its range runs through western Brazil, the eastern half of Colombia, eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru into northern Bolivia. In Brazil it lives up to about 1,000 meters. It feeds mainly on fruit, arthropods and eggs, and it has been seen eating lizards. Villagarzón is known as the heart of Putumayo for its rich biodiversity, and its town center sits at about 426 meters. The municipality lies in the Amazon piedmont and is watered by rivers such as the San Juan, the Conejo and the Putumayo.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. IUCN lists the Violaceous Jay as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Violaceous Jay (Cyanocorax violaceus) 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 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List