Lidth's jay

Last updated

Lidth's jay
Garrulus lidthi Ueno 2013-10-06.jpg
In the Ueno Zoo, Japan
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Garrulus
Species:
G. lidthi
Binomial name
Garrulus lidthi
Bonaparte, 1850

Lidth's jay (Garrulus lidthi), also known as the Amami jay, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Japan.

Measuring up to 38 cm (15 in) in total length, [2] it is slightly larger than its close relative the Eurasian jay, with a proportionately stouter bill and also a longer tail. It has no discernible crest, with the head feathers a velvety black, the shoulders and back a deep purplish blue and all other parts a rich chestnut purple.

This jay has a very restricted distribution occurring only on the southern Japanese islands of Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima in pine forest, sub-tropical woodland and cultivated areas especially around villages.

Food is largely made up of the nuts of the native chinkapin Castanopsis cuspidata but includes small reptiles and invertebrates of many types.

The bird nests in large cavities in trees but otherwise the nest is the same as that of the other two Garrulus species with 3–4 eggs.

The voice is similar to that of the Eurasian jay.

The species was threatened in the past by hunting for its feathers, which were used for decorating ladies' hats. Today it is threatened by introduced small Indian mongooses, which were brought to its range to control the venomous Okinawa pit viper. The species is fully protected under Japanese law and is increasing in numbers thanks to control of the mongooses.

The species name commemorates the Dutch zoologist Theodoor Gerard van Lidth de Jeude.

In 1965 it was chosen as the symbolic bird of Kagoshima Prefecture

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue crane</span> Species of large bird from southern Africa also known as Stanley crane and paradise crane

The blue crane, also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemian waxwing</span> Passerine bird from Eurasia and North America

The Bohemian waxwing is a starling-sized passerine bird that breeds in the northern forests of the Palearctic and North America. It has mainly buff-grey plumage, black face markings and a pointed crest. Its wings are patterned with white and bright yellow, and some feather tips have the red waxy appearance that give this species its English name. The three subspecies show only minor differences in appearance. Females are similar to males, although young birds are less well-marked and have few or no waxy wingtips. Although the Bohemian waxwing's range overlaps those of the cedar and Japanese waxwings, it is easily distinguished from them by size and plumage differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian jay</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian jay is a species of passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The Eurasian jay is a woodland bird that occurs over a vast region from western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. Across this vast range, several distinct racial forms have evolved which look different from each other, especially when comparing forms at the extremes of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed jay</span> Species of bird

The black-headed jay or lanceolated jay is roughly the same size as its close relative the Eurasian jay, but a little more slender overall except for the bill which is slightly shorter and thicker. The top of the head is black and it has a more obvious crest too and a longer tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European roller</span> Species of bird

The European roller is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia and the Maghreb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian blue tit</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian blue tit is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amami woodcock</span> Species of bird

The Amami woodcock is a medium-sized wader. It is slightly larger and longer-legged than Eurasian woodcock, and may be conspecific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian collared dove</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian collared dove is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian treecreeper</span> Small passerine bird found in temperate Eurasia

The Eurasian treecreeper or common treecreeper is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long stiff tail feathers which help it creep up tree trunks. It can be most easily distinguished from the similar short-toed treecreeper, which shares much of its European range, by its different song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The spotted flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amami rabbit</span> Species of mammal

The Amami rabbit, or Amami no-kuro-usagi, also known as the Ryukyu rabbit is a dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan. Often called a living fossil, the Amami rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits that once lived on the Asian mainland, where they died out, remaining only on the two small Japanese islands where they live today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian three-toed woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker that is found from northern Europe across northern Asia to Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kauaʻi ʻōʻō</span> Extinct species of bird

The Kauaʻi ʻōʻō or ʻōʻōʻāʻā was the last member of the ʻōʻō (Moho) genus within the Mohoidae family of birds from the islands of Hawaiʻi. The entire family is now extinct. It was previously regarded as a member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crag martin</span> Genus of birds

The crag martins are four species of small passerine birds in the genus Ptyonoprogne of the swallow family. They are the Eurasian crag martin (P. rupestris), the pale crag martin (P. obsoleta), the rock martin (P. fuligula) and the dusky crag martin (P. concolor). They are closely related to each other, and have formerly sometimes been considered to be one species. They are closely related to the Hirundo barn swallows and are placed in that genus by some authorities. These are small swallows with brown upperparts, paler underparts without a breast band, and a square tail with white patches. They can be distinguished from each other on size, the colour shade of the upperparts and underparts, and minor plumage details like throat colour. They resemble the sand martin, but are darker below, and lack a breast band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvery-throated jay</span> Species of bird

The silvery-throated jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and western Panama. The IUCN has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azure-hooded jay</span> Species of bird

The azure-hooded jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in Middle America. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. This species is known to have four subspecies. It is 11 to 12 inches in length and is dark blue with a black head and upper chest. The back of the head and neck are sky blue with a white border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small Indian mongoose</span> Mongoose species in South Asia

The small Indian mongoose is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern South Asia; it has also been introduced to many regions of the world, such as several Caribbean and Pacific islands.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Garrulus lidthi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22705771A94034884. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705771A94034884.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Amami jay (Garrulus lidthi) Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine . arkive.org