Ground Jay
The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae. They inhabit high altitude semi-desert areas from central Asia to Mongolia.
Ground jays show adaptations to ground living such as long, strong legs adapted to fast running and the ability to leap and bound onto boulders and rocks with great agility. Their long, curved thick bills are adapted for digging and probing.
While capable of flight (which they do infrequently and relatively weakly), they prefer running, and will readily perch on trees and bushes also.
Read more about Ground Jay: Species List
Famous quotes containing the words ground and/or jay:
“The sight of one of these frontier houses, built of these great logs, whose inhabitants have unflinchingly maintained their ground many summers and winters in the wilderness, reminds me of famous forts, like Ticonderoga or Crown Point, which have sustained memorable sieges.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“Im getting married in the morning,
Ding! dong! the bells are gonna chime.
Pull out the stopper;
Lets have a whopper;
But get me to the church on time!”
—Alan Jay Lerner (19181986)