Black-chested Jay

How to find it

Start on the southern Caribbean coast around Cahuita, where one group of birders found this jay reliably each day. They returned to spots they had already scouted, including near Playa Grande, which is a good habit to copy. A photo has also been taken at Puerto Vargas in Cahuita. Scan the middle and upper levels of forest, shaded cacao and tall regrowth, and the edges of banana plantations with clearings nearby. Because it keeps to dense vegetation, patience and a listening ear matter more than speed, and a soft call is the clue to follow.

How to recognise it

Look for a big jay, about 36 cm long, with these marks:

A black head, throat and chest.

Blue spots above and below a pale eye, and a short blue cheek stripe.

A stiff crest on the forehead.

A white tip on the tail.

Across its whole range the underparts are mostly white and the upperparts and wings dark violet-blue. The eye is yellow, and males and females look alike.

Young birds are duller. They have a dull black head and neck and a greyish brown chest. Their blue face marks are missing or very small, and the forehead feathers are less stiff and upright than an adult's.

What it sounds like

Recording: keesgroenendijk, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

The Black-chested Jay searches for food from the ground up to the treetops. It eats insects, lizards, small frogs and many kinds of fruit, and it sometimes visits army ant swarms to catch prey fleeing the ants.

It is shy and discreet and usually stays in dense vegetation. It harasses predatory birds and snakes. The species usually travels in small groups, so if you see one, look for others nearby.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica this jay lives in the southeast Caribbean lowlands and foothills, from the Panama border north to near the Estrella River valley. It climbs to at least 1200 m.

It uses the middle and upper levels of gallery forest and other forest, shaded cacao, tall regrowth, and banana plantations with nearby clearings. Costa Rica is the northern edge of its range.

Similar birds

The common Brown Jay is loud and found almost countrywide except the south. The Black-chested Jay is quieter, stays in thick vegetation and lacks the grating calls of many jays. Young Black-chested Jays are duller than adults, with a greyish brown chest and little or no blue on the face.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The official Spanish name in Costa Rica is Urraca Pechinegra. Other Spanish-speaking countries also call it urraca de pecho negro or chara pechinegra, and in Colombia farmers know it as chauchao or carriquí pechinegro.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident (R), an uncommon, local one in Costa Rica, while the species overall is rated Least Concern with a stable population.