Ground Jay

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:

    Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants keep on digging. Most people don’t. They establish contact with the soil, absorb so much vernal vigor that they can’t stay in one place, and desert the fork or spade to see how the rhubarb is coming and whether the asparagus is yet in sight.
    Hal Borland (1900–1978)

    He hangs in the hall by his black cravat,
    The ladies faint, and the children holler:
    Only my Daddy could look like that,
    And I love my Daddy like he loves his Dollar.
    —William Jay Smith (b. 1918)