The black-headed jay or lanceolated jay (''Garrulus lanceolatus'') is roughly the same size as its close relative the

Eurasian jay The Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius'') 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 ...

, 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. It ranges from eastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

eastwards, across the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. It occurs in wooded country with large areas of open ground rather than dense forest. It also occurs in some cultivated areas and even near villages as long as there are enough trees and scrubland nearby. It feeds both on the ground and in trees, and takes virtually the same wide range of plant and animal foods as its close relative, including

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s and nestlings, as well as scraps near human habitation. It nests in trees and suitable bushes and in this resembles the Eurasian jay in every respect. their nests are made of sticks plastered together with mud and lined with weeds and rootlets. There are usually 3–5 eggs incubated over 16 days. Both parents feed the young. The voice is very similar to the Eurasian jay's and is most often a loud screech but with longer pauses between.

Gallery

File:Black-headed Jay Pangot Uttarakhand India 04.10.2014.jpg, left, ''Garrulus lanceolatus'' from Pangot,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

at an altitude of around 6300 ft. File:Black-headed-jay-rkd.jpg, The black-headed jay (Garrulus lanceolatus) at Palampur in Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. File:Black-headed Jay.JPG, Black-headed Jay near Gallu temple in Himachal File:Black-headed jay DSCN0166 1.jpg, Black-headed Jay at Sattal

References

External links

Avibase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1586915 black-headed jay Birds of Afghanistan Birds of Pakistan Birds of North India Birds of Nepal black-headed jay Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors