Turkestan Ground-Jay
Podoces panderi
Odd dove-gray corvid with a slightly decurved bill. Note black lores, tail, and chest. Delicate buffy-pinkish wash on the chest visible in good light. Inhabits sandy deserts with scattered shrubs. Often perches out in the open, next to roads, and forages on the ground in small flocks or pairs. Gives a bubbling ‘bl’lip, bl’lip’, often in the early morning.
Identification
The Turkestan ground jay, grey ground jay or Pander's ground-jay (Podoces panderi) 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.
Taxonomy
Genus: Podoces; Family: Corvidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Podoces panderi
- Authority
- Fischer von Waldheim, 1821
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Podoces
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Stunning and unmistakable: green and yellow plumage with bold black-and-blue head pattern. Birds from Texas to Honduras have a blue crown, dark eye, and relatively uniform lime-green body, and occur in small flocks in woodland with brushy understory. Birds in South America, sometimes called Inca Jays, occur in Andean cloud forest from Venezuela to Bolivia. They show a white crown, pale eye, blue forehead tuft, and rich sulphur-yellow belly contrasting with darker green upperparts. Both populations give a variety of strange mechanical calls.
Great Spinetail
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Handsome spinetail with a highly restricted range, known only from arid Andean valleys southeast of the city of Cajamarca in northern Peru. It has a white throat and eyebrow, a streaky breast, and chestnut wings and tail. Plumage is similar to Necklaced Spinetail, but Great is much larger, and the two species do not overlap. Inhabits thorny scrub and cacti. Vocalizations include fast rattles and shrill, doubled chirps.
Littoral Rock-Thrush
Monticola imerina
Chunky, mid-sized robin-like bird. Males are pale gray and orange, while females are gray-brown. Madagascar endemic that is found in coastal spiny forest and scrub in the southwest. Perches up conspicuously. Song is a variable mix of thin whistles and raspy notes. Paler than Forest Rock-Thrush, with little or no overlap in range. Female similar to female Madagascar Magpie-Robin, but smaller and grayer, without white patch in the wing.
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