Ground Jays or Ground Choughs
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The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a very distinct and interesting group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae that inhabit high altitude semi-desert areas from central Asia to Mongolia.
They show excellent distinct adaptations to their ground living way of life such as long, strong legs adapted to fast running and they leap and bound onto boulders and rocks with great agility. Their long, curved thick bills are adapted for digging and probing.
They can all of course fly (which they do little and relatively weakly), but prefer running, and will readily perch on trees and bushes also.
Species list
- Henderson's Ground Jay or Mongolian Ground-jay, Podoces hendersoni : Found in China, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The bird is light tan with iridesent blue on its primary feathers. It has a long, curved beak and a black stripe on its forehead.
- Biddulph's Ground Jay or Xinjiang Ground-jay , Podoces biddulphi : Endemic to China. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Persian Ground Jay, Podoces pleskei : Endemic to Iran.
- Turkestan Ground-jay or Grey Ground Jay, Podoces panderi
Hume's 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.
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