Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 9, 2026

Perisoreus

The genus Perisoreus is a very small genus of jays from the Boreal regions of North America and Eurasia from Scandinavia to the Asian seaboard. An isolated species also occurs in north-western Sichuan of China. They belong to the Passerine order of birds in the family Corvidae. Species of Perisoreus jays are most closely related to the genus Cyanopica.

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Jun 9, 2026
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Perisoreus
Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Subfamily: Perisoreinae
Genus: Perisoreus
Bonaparte, 1831
Type species
Corvus canadensis1
Linnaeus, 1766

The genus Perisoreus is a very small genus of jays from the Boreal regions of North America and Eurasia from Scandinavia to the Asian seaboard. An isolated species also occurs in north-western Sichuan of China. They belong to the Passerine order of birds in the family Corvidae. Species of Perisoreus jays are most closely related to the genus Cyanopica.2

The genus was introduced by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1831.3 The type species was subsequently designated as the Canada jay.4 The name of the genus may come from the Ancient Greek perisōreuō "to heap up" or "bury beneath". Alternatively it may be from the Latin peri- "very" or "exceedingly" and sorix, a bird of augury dedicated to Saturn.5

Species

The genus contains three species.6

Genus Perisoreus – Bonaparte, 1831 – three species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Canada jay

 Perisoreus canadensis
(Linnaeus, 1766)

Nine subspecies
  • P. c. albescens
  • P. c. bicolor
  • P. c. canadensis
  • P. c. capitalis
  • P. c. griseus
  • P. c. nigricapillus
  • P. c. obscurus
  • P. c. pacificus
  • P. c. sanfordi
North America north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


26,000,0007 Decrease

Siberian jay

 Perisoreus infaustus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Five subspecies
 north Eurasia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


2,130,000-4,150,0008 Decrease

Sichuan jay

 Perisoreus internigrans
(Thayer & Bangs, 1912) 		China Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


12,000 - 20,5009 Decrease


References

References

  1. "Corvidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. Ericson, Per G. P.; Jansén, Anna-Lee; Johansson, Ulf S.; Ekman, Jan (2005). "Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data" (PDF). Journal of Avian Biology. 36 (3): 222–234. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.493.5531. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2001.03409.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  3. Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1831). "Saggio di una distribuzione metodica degli Animali Vertebrati di Carlo Luciano Bonaparte principe di Musignano". Giornale Arcadico di Scienze, Lettre ed Arti. 49: 3–77 [42].
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 235.
  5. Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  7. BirdLife International. (2018). "Perisoreus canadensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T22705783A130380194. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22705783A130380194.en. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  8. BirdLife International. (2024). "Perisoreus infaustus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024 e.T22705775A264580592. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22705775A264580592.en. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  9. BirdLife International. (2022). "Perisoreus internigrans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022 e.T22705778A209666424. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T22705778A209666424.en. Retrieved 16 September 2025.