Ground jays | |
---|---|
Turkestan ground jay | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Corvidae |
Genus: | Podoces Fischer von Waldheim, 1821 |
Type species | |
Podoces panderi [1] Fischer von Waldheim, 1821 | |
Species | |
The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae. They inhabit high altitude semi-desert areas from central Asia to Mongolia.
Ground jays show adaptations to ground living such as long, strong legs adapted to fast running and the ability to leap and bound onto boulders and rocks with great agility. Their long, curved thick bills are adapted for digging and probing.
While capable of flight (which they do infrequently and relatively weakly), they prefer running, and will readily perch on trees and bushes also.
Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Podoces hendersoni | Mongolian ground jay | Mongolia, northern China and adjacent areas of Russia and Kazakhstan | |
Podoces biddulphi | Xinjiang ground jay | China | |
Podoces pleskei | Pleske's ground jay | Iran. | |
Podoces panderi | Turkestan ground jay | Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan | |
The ground tit (Pseudopodoces humilis), previously Hume's ground jay, has changed its placement within the Passeriformes recently because of molecular and osteological testing. It has now been placed into the Paridae.
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 139 species are included in this family. The genus Corvus containing 50 species makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids (ravens) are the largest passerines.
A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian magpie seems more closely related to the Eurasian jay than to the East Asian blue and green magpies, whereas the blue jay is not closely related to either. The Eurasian jay distributes oak acorns, contributing to the growth of oak woodlands over time.
Cyanocitta is a genus of birds in the family Corvidae, a family which contains the crows, jays and magpies. The genus includes two crested jays with blue plumage and a distinctive feather crest. Found only in temperate North America, the Rocky Mountains divide the two species. These jays inhabit deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forests, feeding mainly on seeds, invertebrates, and small vertebrates, with occasional human food. As omnivores, they breed from spring to early summer, nesting in treetops or bushes with clutches of three to six eggs. They are the only American corvids that use mud in nest-building. Despite their similarities, the two species differ in migratory behavior, socialization, and mating habits.
The treepies comprise four closely related genera of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae. There are 12 species of treepie. Some treepies are similar to magpies. Most treepies are black, white, gray or brown. They are found in Southeast Asia. They live in tropical forests. They are highly arboreal and rarely come to the ground to feed.
Dendrocitta is a genus of long-tailed passerine birds in the crow and jay family, Corvidae. They are resident in tropical South and Southeast Asia. The generic name is derived from the Greek words dendron, meaning "tree," and kitta, meaning "magpie".
Crypsirina is a small genus of long-tailed passerine birds in the crow and jay family, Corvidae. The two species are highly arboreal and rarely come to the ground to feed. The generic name is derived from the Greek words kruptō, meaning "to conceal," and rhis or rhinos, meaning "nostrils".
The ground tit, Tibetan ground-tit or Hume's ground-tit is a bird of the Tibetan plateau north of the Himalayas. The peculiar appearance confused ornithologists in the past who called it as Hume's groundpecker and still later as Hume's ground jay or Tibetan ground jay assuming that it belonged to the family Corvidae that includes the crows and jays. Although morphologically confusing, the species has since been identified using molecular sequence comparisons as being a member of the tit family (Paridae) and is the only species in the genus Pseudopodoces. It is found in the Tibetan Plateau of China, India, Nepal & Bhutan.
The Sri Lanka blue magpie or Ceylon magpie is a brightly coloured member of the family Corvidae, found exclusively in Sri Lanka. This species is adapted to hunting in the dense canopy, where it is highly active and nimble. Its flight is rather weak, though, and is rarely used to cover great distances. In spite of the Sri Lanka blue magpie's ability to adapt to the presence of humans, it is classified as vulnerable to extinction due to the fragmentation and destruction of its habitat of dense primary forest in the wet zone of southern Sri Lanka.
Azure is the color between cyan and blue on the spectrum of visible light. It is often described as the color of the sky on a clear day.
The azure jay is a passeriform bird of the crow family, Corvidae. It is found in the Atlantic Forest, especially with Araucaria angustifolia, in south-eastern Brazil, far eastern Paraguay and far north-eastern Argentina. It is the state bird of Paraná.
The bushy-crested jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in Central America, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest. There are two subspecies, C. m. melanocyaneus which is found in Guatemala and southern El Salvador, and C. m. chavezi from Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua.
The San Blas jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to Mexico where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests; it is a common species and has been rated as "least concern" by the IUCN.
The violaceous jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae, the crows and their allies.
The dwarf jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, specifically comprising an oak-pine mix. As its name would imply, this is the smallest member of the family Corvidae at 20–23 cm long and weighing 41 g. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The turquoise jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.
The white-collared jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in Andean forests in Peru and Bolivia. It was formerly considered conspecific with the black-collared jay. The white-collared jay was classified as least concern in 1988 and as near threatened in 2012.
Xinjiang ground jay or Biddulph's ground jay, is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to China. It is not larger than an adult human's hand and has a brownish white coat of feathers.
The Mongolian ground jay or Henderson's ground jay, is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.
The Turkestan ground jay, grey ground jay or Pander's ground-jay is a species of bird in the crow and jay family, Corvidae. It is found in central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. More specifically, they tend to be found in Astragalus, Calligonum and southern Salsola vegetation zones. It is closely related to the Iranian ground jay. Its natural habitat is sandy desert with low shrub cover. It also forages around human settlements and roads.
The Iranian ground jay or Pleske's ground jay, is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to Iran where it is known as Zaghbur in Persian.