 |
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Endemic Species White-whiskered Laughingthrush
Yellow Tit
Endemic Sub-Species
White-browed Shortwing
More Birds in Taiwan
|
Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius taivanus Endemic subspecies
The Eurasian Jay is a small (33 cm) member of the crow family. Its breast, back, scapulars and lesser coverts are grayish brown, its head a brighter pinkish brown. It bears a conspicuous, broad black moustache mark extending from the base of the bill. The primary flight feathers and tail are black, while the outer secondaries and greater and median wing coverts are black with bright blue bars, the blue showing as a patch on the folded wing. The lower belly and rump are white. The Taiwan subspecies taivanus is smaller and smaller-billed than the mainland Chinese subspecies, and has black nasal tufts and fine streaking immediately above the tufts. It is whiter on the lower belly and grayer on the scapulars.
The Eurasian Jay is a noisy bird of deciduous woodlands and forests which often gathers in small groups to mob raptors. It feeds on fruits, acorns, birds’ eggs and carrion. It is a common year-round resident in the mountain regions of central Taiwan.
References: A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Mackinnon and Phillipps); N. J. Collar, “Endemic subspecies of Taiwan birds—first impressions”, in Birding ASIA, Number 2, December 2004
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
