Cyanocorax chrysops
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The plush-crested jay (Cyanocorax chrysops) is a jay of the family Corvidae (which includes the crows and their many allies). It is found in central-southern South America: in southwestern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina, including southern regions of the Amazon Basin river systems bordering the Pantanal.
The plush-crested jay is a medium-sized bird with an overall dark blue colored plumage. It has a cream-yellow underbelly, undertail coverts, underwings, and tail tip, while the upper breast, neck, and head are mostly black. It has a lighter blue on its cheeks and nape, which fades into the darker blue of its body, as well as a spot above its eyes, which are yellow. Its bill is dark blue to black. It has a rounded crest on its head, which it is named for.
The range of the plush-crested jay extends from the Southern Region, Brazil with Uruguay and approaches the South Atlantic coast, but avoids the coast, approximating a 400 to 150 km coastal strip; the coastal-inland range extends 3500 km from São Paulo south to Rio Grande do Sul bordering Uruguay. The inland range continues in northwestern Uruguay and extends northwest... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 4 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 3 | Parque das Aves | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Wildlife World Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 11 | Biocentro Güembé | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 12 | Bioparque | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 13 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | El Paso Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Reserva de Fauna y Flora Pan de Azúcar | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 17 | Elmwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Greenville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Central Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Aquarium of the Americas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Plush-crested Jay sighting in Iberá National Park on a given day, based on 186 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 146th most-seen of the 284 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Plush-crested Jay in Iberá National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plush-crested Jay sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Plush-crested Jay sightings, Iberá National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Amboró National Park (Bolivia, about 80%), El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 70%) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Plush-crested Jay that you can see in Iberá National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Great Kiskadee (about 80%), Rufous Hornero (about 80%) and Brazilian Cardinal (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plush-crested Jay is recorded against all the birds logged in Iberá National Park (186 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
