Violaceous Jay

*Top 50 Target Species (Because it's a JAY")

In Ecuador, the Violaceous Jay is a fairly common resident of humid lowland forests east of the Andes, particularly in the Amazonian provinces such as Pastaza and Napo. This medium-large corvid, cloaked in deep violet-blue plumage with a dark face and throat, travels in noisy flocks through the canopy, foraging for fruit, insects, and occasionally small vertebrates or eggs. Though its population is suspected to be slowly declining due to deforestation, it remains widespread and is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Its adaptability to degraded forest edges allows it to persist in fragmented landscapes, though intact rainforest remains its stronghold.