Plumage is a very important factor for birds. From courtship to signaling mates or camouflaging, the color of the bird’s feathers plays quite a great role. Often we see Blue Birds with Black Heads wandering around us, but we fail to identify them. To help you all, we come with our today’s article about 15 Blue Birds with Black Heads. So without further ado, let us get going.
15 Beautiful Blue Birds with Black Heads
1. Stellar Jay
- Scientific Name: Cyanocitta stelleri
- Size: 12-13 inches
- Location: Western North America
The Stellar Jay is a vibrant and boisterous bird with a natural range in western North America. Depending on the location and the latitude of the region, Stellar’s Jays have a head that is either black, blackish-brown, or dark bluish with lighter bands on the head.
Adults from coastal regions are half-charcoal black in hue. These birds have an attitude and are also incredibly curious.
The diet of Steller’s jays, which are omnivores, consists of roughly 66% plant and 33% third animal materials. They obtain food from both trees and as well as from the ground.
2. Black Capped Kingfisher
- Scientific Name: Halcyon pileata
- Size: 25-30 centimeters
- Location: China, Korea, India, Sri Lanka
The second bird on this list of Blue Birds with Black Heads is the Black-Capped Kingfisher. Adult birds have wings that are blue and black. The neck and the chest are white, while the rufous underparts are light brownish.
The head is black, while the bill is large and bright red. This species of Kingfishers live in mangroves and feed on fish and large insects. Once popular for its blue and purple feathers, the IUCN currently lists this bird as the Least Concern.
3. Blue Bird of Paradise
- Scientific Name: Paradisornis rudolphi
- Size: over a foot long
- Location: New Guinea
The genus Paradisaea houses some of the most extravagant birds on the planet, and the Blue Bird of Paradise is no exception to it. The bird features glossy black feathers, light to azure blue wings, and silvery crescents around its eyes.
The striking feature of this bird is its long tails that have elongated wire-like feathers. The courtship displayed by the males of this species is indeed breathtaking and is one of the most precious moments one can witness.
4. Azure Jay
- Scientific Name: Cyanocorax caeruleus
- Size: 16 inches
- Location: South America
Next up on this list of Blue birds with black heads, we have Azure Jay. They are large birds that have vibrant blue-colored bodies that range from ultramarine to cerulean but have different colored heads.
Azure Jays have a small crest that, along with the head and throat, is black. The body and the head are quite contrasting in coloration. Azure Jays are popular in local cultures and folklore but are currently threatened, as stated by the IUCN.
5. Green Honeycreeper
- Scientific Name: Chlorophanes spiza
- Size: 5-5.5 inches
- Location: Venezuela
Green Honeycreepers are sexually dimorphic creatures, where the females are grassy green in color while the males are vibrant blue or rather greenish-blue.
The males, in addition, also show iridescence in the neck and a dark black head. Green Honeycreepers are canopy-dwelling species and depend largely on seeds and fruits for their diet.
6. Azure Winged Magpie
- Scientific Name: Cyanopica cyanus
- Size: 35 centimeters
- Location: East Asia
Azure Winged Magpie is another bird on our list that belongs to the crow family. While the head is glossy black, the back and the underparts are fawn-grey.
The tail and the wings display an azure blue coloration, and therefore we have included them in our list of Blue Birds with Black Heads.
Their flocks may house as many as 70 birds and feed on acorns, soft fruits, pine nuts, and insects. Currently, the IUCN lists the Azure Winged Magpies as a species of least concern.
7. Bushy Crested Jay
- Scientific Name: Cyanocorax melanocyaneus
- Size: 11-12 inches
- Location: Central America
The Bushy Crested Jay is another blue bird with black heads. They have quite long tails, with blue wings, backs, and underparts. The head, along with the mantle and the neck, displays a black color.
Subtropical and tropical montane forests serve as the ideal habitats for these birds. Bushy crested Jays are quite adaptable creatures, and the changes in the environment do very little harm to them.
Agricultural lands and coffee plantations also become ideal habitats for these birds.
8. Plush Crested Jay
- Scientific Name: Cyanocorax chrysops
- Size: 35 centimeters
- Location: central-southern South America
Plush Crested Jays display vivid indigo-blue colored upper parts like the wings, while the neck, head, chin, and crest are of glossy black color. The underparts are cream-white or yellowish.
Plush Crested Jays display a special behavior called cooperative breeding, wherein two or three members of the same species help in nesting or even defend the nest from predators. These birds prefer woody areas and may range from tropical to temperate rainforests.
9. San Blas Jay
- Scientific Name: Cyanocorax sanblasianus
- Size: 27-35 centimeters
- Location: endemic to Mexico
Now let us talk about another blue bird with black heads, the San Bias Jay. The wings, tail, and back are blue, while the chest, head, and underparts are black.
San Bias Jays make dry and woody areas their homes, sometimes even in mangroves and plantations. With flocks housing as many as 30 individuals, San Bias Jays are highly social birds and feed on insects, lizards, and plant products.
10. Greater Coucal
- Scientific Name: Centropus sinensis
- Size: 48 centimeters
- Location: Indian subcontinent
Despite being a member of the Cuckoo family, the Greater Coucal is a non-parasitic bird and is quite large. The Greater Coucals in various areas show slight differences in plumage, but the ones we are considering are the ones present in Peninsular India and also in West Bengal.
The heads are black, while the neck and the underparts are glossy blue, and may show iridescence. The Upperside of the sings and the throat is brown.
These large birds feed on caterpillars, snails, vipers, fruits, and even nestlings of other birds. As of now, the IUCN puts this bird species under the category of least concern.
11. Chestnut Winged Cuckoo
- Scientific Name: Clamator coromandus
- Size: 35-45 centimeters
- Location: Southeast Asia, China
The Chestnut Winged Cuckoo has a characteristic spiky crest, which along with the head, is black.The chin and the throat regions are rusty browns, while the neck features a white band.
The sides of the wings are brown, while the upper regions of the wings and the tails are blue. Chestnut Winged Cuckoos exhibit brood parasitism, a common behavior in the birds of the cuckoo family. Their diet varies from invertebrates like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders to small fruits.
12. Lidth’s Jay
- Scientific Name: Garrulus lidthi
- Size: 38 centimeters
- Location: native to a few islands in Japan
Next up, in this list of Blue Birds with Black Heads we have the Lidth’s Jay, which showcases a plumage consisting of deep blue and chestnut plumage.
The wings, tail, and also hood of this bird display a brilliant blue coloration that beautifully contrasts with its chestnut breast, back, and also the underparts.
The face, however, along with the chin and the forehead, is black. Lidth’s Jays bit only feeds on small invertebrates like spiders reptiles and sometimes even birds, along with a diet of fruits and seeds.
13. Blue-Backed Manakin
- Scientific Name: Chiroxiphia pareola
- Size: 5 inches
- Location: Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil
The Blue Backed Manakins are mall passerine birds known for their vibrant contrasting colorations. For today’s list, we are considering the males of this species that display an overall black plumage but have a characteristic vibrant blue back.
The crown has a bright red patch but may also be yellow in some individuals. Blue Backed Manakins display a special behavior called cooperative courtship display, which is quite unusual, as courtship itself is a competitive behavior.
14. Greater Racket Tailed Drongo
- Scientific Name: Dicrurus paradiseus
- Size: 30-65 centimeters
- Location: Himalayan foothills
Though many people would argue that the Greater Racket Tailed Drongo is black, there are many races whose feathers fall in the dark blackish-blue coloration.
Though the body may show iridescence while being bluish, the head remains black. Their characteristic tail serves to be an identifying feature of this bird.
15. Violaceous Jay
- Scientific Name: Cyanocorax violaceus
- Size: 33-38 centimeters
- Location: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
The Violaceous Jay is the last bird on our list of Blue Birds with Black Heads that display violet-blue feathers with a contrasting black head and throat region.
Violaceous Jays are omnivorous creatures that feed on a wide spectrum of foods like invertebrates, eggs of other birds, small reptiles, etc. Feeding activities generally take place in flocks, and they do not stay in one place for long.
Now, we conclude this article on 15 Blue Birds with Black heads. Please do check out our several articles covering a wide range of topics, especially birds. We have several interesting articles lined up for the future; until then, goodbye.
References:
Thai National Parks- Black Capped Kingfisher
Oiseaux Birds- Lidith’s Jay
Oiseaux Birds- Plus-Crested Jay
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A zoology student turned writer. Nature has always been a magnet to me, and to unearth some of its secrets through my articles is my prime intention. If not engaging myself with nature and anime content, you can always find me going through some Bengali classics or filling the air with some soulful Tabla beats. An artist, trying to throw some colors to my blank canvas of life.