| Mongolian ground jay | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Podoces |
| Species: | P. hendersoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Podoces hendersoni Hume, 1871 | |
The Mongolian ground jay (Podoces hendersoni) or Henderson's ground jay, is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.
The bird is light tan with iridescent blue on its primary feathers. It has a long, curved beak and a black stripe on its forehead.
It is found in arid areas of Central Asia (Mongolia, northern China and adjacent areas of Russia and Kazakhstan). It is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. [2] It tends to live on areas with gravel surfaces. [3]
Eggs are typically laid and hatched in April-May. They nest in Prunus pedunculata . Females spend more time foraging and the males spend more time brooding the chicks at the start of the nesting period. [2]
They are most active in the morning. [2]
Among ground jays, they have a relatively short trill call. [4]
The main diet of the nestling Mongolian ground jay consists of common lizards, toad-headed agama, and invertebrates. It is proposed that Mongolian ground jays feed their chicks based on the availability of their food rather than in relation to the stage of the chicks development. They spend more time foraging at warmer temperatures. [2]
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, 135 species are included in this family. The genus Corvus containing 47 species makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids (ravens) are the largest passerines.
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The killdeer is a large plover found in the Americas. It gets its name from its shrill, two-syllable call, which is often heard. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Three subspecies are described. Its upperparts are mostly brown with rufous fringes, the head has patches of white and black, and two black bands cross the breast. The belly and the rest of the breast are white. The nominate subspecies breeds from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada to Mexico. It is seen year-round in the southern half of its breeding range; the subspecies C. v. ternominatus is resident in the West Indies, and C. v. peruvianus inhabits Peru and surrounding South American countries throughout the year. North American breeders winter from their resident range south to Central America, the West Indies, and the northernmost portions of South America.
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The Galápagos petrel is one of the six endemic seabirds of the Galápagos. Its scientific name derives from Ancient Greek: Pterodroma originates from pteron and dromos, meaning "wing" and "runner", and phaeopygia comes from phaios and pugios, meaning "dusky" and "rump". Members of Pterodroma genus are also called the gadfly petrels because their erratic twisting and turning in flight resemble that of gadflies.
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The long-toed lapwing , also known as the long-toed plover, is a species of wading bird in the lapwing subfamily, within the family Charadriidae. It is mainly sedentary and found across central and eastern Africa, from Chad and South Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the southeast of its range. It is one of 13 species of ground-nesting lapwings found in Africa.
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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.
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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.
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The bronze-winged courser or violet-tipped courser is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. This species is named for its characteristic bronze-tipped feathers that are visible during flight. It is found living throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, inhabiting semi-arid savannas and woodlands. This is a nocturnal species which mainly feeds on ground-dwelling insects. Bronze-winged coursers are typically solitary, only forming monogamous pairs for breeding. A female may produce 2-3 eggs per clutch, and the chicks receive parental care from both sexes when young. The bronze-winged courser is considered of Least Concern for conservation status, and is thought to be a very stable species.
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