#corvid abcs

[ainawgsd]

The Stresemann's bushcrow (Zavattariornis stresemanni), also known as Abyssinian pie, bush crow, Ethiopian bushcrow, or by its generic name Zavattariornis, is a rather starling-like bird, which is currently thought to be member of the crow family, Corvidae, though this is uncertain. The range of this species is quite restricted, it being confined to thorn acacia country in southern Ethiopia near Yavello (Javello), Mega, and Arero. It can be curiously absent from apparently suitable country near these areas; the reasons for this are not apparent.

The Stresemann's bushcrow was described by Edgardo Moltoni in 1938. This species has been placed in several bird families since its description. It has long been considered a member of the crow family Corvidae; however, several atypical features, such as its lice being from the suborder Mallophaga, its bare facial skin being capable of movement, and the structure of its palate, have suggested that it may belong in another family. DNA-sequencing analysis supports its placement in the corvids, with its closest relatives being the ground jays, magpies, and the piapiac. It has been suggested that the bushcrow is a surviving relict ancestor to several of these relatives. However, its taxonomic situation is still considered to be in flux.

The Stresemann's bushcrow is about 11 inches long and weighs 130 grams. The genders look similar and are not sexually dimorphic.  It is slightly larger than the North American blue jay and is a bluish-grey in overall colour which becomes almost white on the forehead. The throat and chest are creamy-white with the tail and wings a glossy black. The black feathers have a tendency to bleach to brown at their tips. The iris of the bird is brown and the eye is surrounded by a band of naked bright blue skin. The bright azure skin around the bushcrow's eye is featherless and can be inflated, narrowing the blackish-brown eye into a slit. The feathers behind the eye are capable of moving to reveal an oblong pink patch of skin. The bird's black beak decurves into a sharply pointed tip and is relatively small for a corvid. Its blue-black tail is relatively long and square-ended. Its legs are black. The juvenile Stresemann's bushcrow is slightly duller than the adult, and the feathers of the body and upperwings are fringed with creamy-fawn. The facial skin, bill, and legs are also a dull grey.

The Stresemann's bushcrow lives in flat savanna covered with mature acacia and Commiphora thornbushes. The bird prefers open short-grass savannas with scattered stands of these mature thornbushes. The soil must be deep and rich to support the bushcrow. It is most numerous when these stands are next to agricultural fields. For many years it was unknown why the species could be completely absent from areas of suitable habitat near seemingly identical but inhabited land. However recent research has revealed that the bird appears to inhabit an area with a very precise average temperature extreme, all of the seemingly suitable but uninhabited surrounding land actually has a slightly higher average temperature that appears to prevent the birds from successfully colonizing.

The Stresemann's bushcrow nests either alone or in a small, loosely connected colony of three to five nests. It is monogamous and may form a lifelong pair bond. The bushcrow occasionally has a third bird, or in rare cases two to four more, help the breeding couple both build the nest and care for the young. The helpers may also not be restricted to helping one nest at a time, as they have been seen at nests across the loose colonies. Allofeeding and allopreening, where the birds feed or preen each other, takes place both between the pair and with the other bushcrows in the colony.

The nest is an untidy globular structure, on which the roof tapers to a point that has an opening into the interior chamber. The nest is 24 inches in diameter while the interior chamber is 12 inches across. To start constructing the nest, a single twig is inserted into the top of an acacia tree 16 to 20 ft above the ground. This leads to the paired bushcrows becoming excited, engorging their blue facial skin. Almost ritualistically the pair then pick the acacia's leaves and twigs, dropping them to the ground. The pair end this display by chasing each other through the trees before continuing construction. The nest is made out of thorny twigs while the interior chamber is lined with dry grass and dried cattle dung. Damp soil is used to keep the initial twigs connected. Old nests are repaired and reused. Up to six eggs are laid in the nest. The bushcrow's eggs are cream-colored with pale lilac blotches that concentrate into a ring at the wider end.

Prior to modern settlement in villages, the nomadic indigenous peoples of Ethiopia provided easy hunting grounds for the bushcrow as they left loose, dung-covered soil behind as they moved their cattle. This provided a rich abundance of beetle larvae for the bushcrow to feed upon. Changes in the grazing habits of Ethiopia's indigenous peoples following the recent trend of settling in permanent villages have negatively impacted the Stresemann's bushcrow. While previously grazers left the soil loose and covered in dung to support the bushcrow's prey, this new lifestyle has resulted in overgrazing and soil compaction in some areas. The idea of private land ownership has also led to intensive planting of cash crops such as maize. The rich soil that the species needs to forage is also prime farming land. In the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, acacia trees are being collected for firewood, removing the bushcrow's nesting site. While protected under law, this sanctuary has difficulties enforcing the law. It is believed that between 1999 and 2003 the population of the bushcrow declined by 80%. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Stresemann's bushcrow as endangered because of its very restricted range and loss of suitable habitat. The population seems to be declining rapidly and in 2007 it was estimated that there might be fewer than 10,000 birds remaining.

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The Yucatan Jay (Cyanocorax yucatanicus) is a black and blue Cyanocorax species native to deciduous forests of the Yucatan peninsula and nearby areas of Belize and Guatemala. The birds have three distinct plumages which include the blue and black of the adult, a first year plumage which appears like the adult with the exception of white tipped tail feathers, and a white and blue-grey juvenal plumage. While the plumage appears adult in the second year, the color of the eye ring and internal bill color can be used to age birds until the fourth year. 

The Yucatan Jay has distinctive differences between age groups in the colors of the bill and tarsus [legs]. The iris appears to remain a dark black-brown throughout the age groups.

Fourth year and older birds have black bills externally. Internally, the maxilla may have varying amounts of white. Eye ring is entirely black. Tarsi and toes yellow.

Third year birds may have a small amount of yellow on the exterior of the bill, but it is mostly black. Internally, the maxilla starts out at the beginning of the year with several black spots of pigment which later join to become over 50% black. The eye ring may have a small amount of yellow until November of the third year, but is entirely black by January. Tarsi and toes yellow.

Second year birds have highly variable bills that start out almost entirely yellow and change to black and yellow bicolored by March. By the end of the second year, some individuals have very black bills, while other retain bicolored bills. The interior of the bill is white. The yellow eye ring begins to show black spots at any time during the second year and by the time of the third prebasic molt the ring becomes almost completely black with minor small yellow spots. The blackening of bill and eye ring often is not bilaterally symmetrical. The tarsi and toes of the second year bird are yellow, as in the rest of the plumages.

First year jays have yellow bill, tarsi and toes. By June or August, dark shadowing may appear on the bill, but no actual black pigment appears until September. Then, the black pigment usually appears at the nasal openings and rami of the lower mandible. The inside of the mouth is white.

Juvenile jays have bill, tarsi and toes of a pale yellow coloration with pink flesh tones. Inside of bill white. Iris dark blackish-brown.

Yucatan Jays are opportunistic omnivores with a diet which varies from season to season and makes use of temporary abundance of food items. When foraging, these jays will sometimes perch 1-5 m above army ant columns and eat invertebrates flushed by the ants. They will often travel near the forest edge in groups flying and hopping from perch to perch at levels ranging from near the ground to the top of the canopy. They move slowly and deliberately, searching foliage and branches for fruit and insects.

Highly gregarious birds, Yucatan Jays are found in flocks throughout the year. These jays breed in cooperative groups which usually consist of one breeding pair and other adults, 2-year olds and 1-year olds. As a cooperative breeder, this jay normally has groups of fewer than 10 birds working together to help an adult pair raise young.

Nests are within 5 m of the forest edge and about 2-5 m below the forest canopy. They are between 4.3 and 9.1 m above the ground. The nest is a flimsy platform with a shallow cup made of sticks inlaid with some coarse plant fiber. The eggs are mottled pale to medium pinkish-buff with reddish-buff speckles. A full clutch consists of 4-6 eggs in the wild nests examined.

Hatching appears to be synchronous and the young are brooded almost continually immediately after they hatch. Feeding of nestlings is a communal effort and the method of food delivery differs. Sometimes bird bringing food give it directly to nestlings. Other times, they deliver it to an intermediary which feeds the young.

According to Birdlife International, the Yucatan Jay is currently listed by the IUCN as "Least Concern." The jays have a large range and a large and increasing population, and thus appear to be doing well.

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[ainawgsd]

The yellow-billed magpie (Pica nutalli) is a large bird in the crow family that is restricted to the U.S. state of California. It inhabits the Central Valley and the adjacent chaparral foothills and mountains. Apart from its having a yellow bill and a yellow streak around the eye, it is virtually identical to the black-billed magpie found in much of the rest of North America. The yellow-billed magpie is adapted to the hot summers of California's Central Valley and experiences less heat stress than the black-billed magpie.

The yellow-billed magpie is gregarious and roosts communally. There may be a cluster of communal roosts in one general area made up of a central roost containing many birds and several outlying roosts with fewer. Yellow-billed magpie flocks are known to engage in funeral-like behavior for their dead.

The yellow-billed magpie prefers groves of tall trees along rivers and near open areas, though in some cities they have begun to nest in vacant lots and other weedy places. A pair of birds builds a dome-shaped nest with sticks and mud on a high branch. Nests may be 14 meters above the ground and are sometimes built far out on long branches to prevent predators from reaching them. They nest in small colonies, or occasionally alone. Even when nesting close to other birds they may exhibit some territorial behavior. Extra-pair copulation is not uncommon among yellow-billed magpies. After mating, a male will exhibit mate-guarding, preventing the female from mating with other males until she lays the first egg. The clutch contains 5 to 7 eggs which are incubated by the female for 16 to 18 days. Both parents feed the nestlings a diet of mostly insects until fledging occurs in 30 days.

These omnivorous birds forage on the ground, mainly eating insects, especially grasshoppers, but also carrion, acorns and fruit in fall and winter. They are attracted to recently butchered carcasses on farms and ranches. They pick through garbage at landfills and dumping sites, and sometimes hunt rodents.

The IUCN classifies the bird as a near threatened species. The Nature Conservancy places it in the vulnerable category.  This bird is extremely susceptible to West Nile virus. Between 2004 and 2006 it is estimated that 50% of all yellow-billed magpies died of the virus. Because the bird tends to roost near water bodies such as rivers, it is often exposed to mosquitoes. Besides West Nile Virus, threats include loss of habitat and rodent poison. The bird has a limited area of distribution but is widespread throughout the area and still common in many places.

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The Biddulph's ground jay or Xinjiang ground jay (Podoces biddulphi) is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to China. It is not larger than an adult human's hand and has a brownish white coat of feathers.

Since 2004, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the jay's conservation status as "Near Threatened" due to habitat fragmentation and degradation.

The Xinjiang Ground-jay Podoces biddulphi is restricted to sandy desert, scrub and desert poplar in the Talikmakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. The species is classified as Near Threatened because it is believed to have a small population that may be declining because of degradation of desert habitats through the intensive grazing of goats and camels, extraction of fuelwood, and the conversion of large areas to irrigated land.

Xinjiang Ground-jays were recorded at 800–1,500 m. Birds were only found in areas of soft sand, mostly in areas with sparse vegetation cover in low areas between sand dunes. They were often seen around temporary car parks, garbage stations, road maintenance camps etc., presumably where food was easier to find. Birds appeared to be territorial and remained faithful to particular locations. 

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[ainawgsd]

The western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula), also known as the Eurasian jackdaw, European jackdaw, or simply jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly resident, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are recognized, which mainly differ in the coloration of the plumage on the head and nape.

The western jackdaw was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th century work Systema Naturae. Owing to its supposed fondness for picking up coins, Linnaeus gave it the binomial name Corvus monedula, choosing the specific name mǒnēdŭla, which is derived from moneta, the Latin stem of the word "money". An archaic collective noun for a group of jackdaws is a "clattering". Another name for a flock is a "train".

The common name jackdaw first appeared in the 16th century, and is thought to be a compound of the forename Jack, used in animal names to signify a small form (e.g. jack snipe), and the archaic native English word daw. Formerly, western jackdaws were simply called "daws". Names in English dialects are numerous. Scottish and north English dialects have included ka or kae since the 14th century. The Midlands form of this word was co or coo. Caddow is potentially a compound of ka and dow, a variant of daw. Other dialectal or obsolete names include caddesse, cawdaw, caddy, chauk, college-bird, jackerdaw, jacko, ka-wattie, chimney-sweep bird (from their nesting propensities), and sea-crow (from the frequency with which they are found on coasts). It was also frequently known quasi-nominally as Jack.

Measuring 13–15 inches in length, the western jackdaw is the second smallest member of the genus Corvus. Most of the plumage is a shiny black, with a purple (in subspecies monedula and spermologus) or blue (in subspecies cirtensis and soemmerringii) sheen on the crown, forehead, and secondaries, and a green-blue sheen on the throat, primaries, and tail. The cheeks, nape and neck are light grey to greyish-silver, and the underparts are slate-grey. The legs are black, as is the short stout bill, the length of which is about 75% of the length of the rest of the head. There are rictal bristles covering around 40% of the maxilla and 25% of the lower mandible. The irises of adults are greyish or silvery white while those of juveniles are light blue, becoming brownish before whitening at around one year of age. The sexes look alike, though the head and neck plumage of male birds fades more with age and wear, particularly just before moulting.

Immature birds have duller and less demarcated plumage. The head is a sooty black, sometimes with a faint greenish sheen and brown feather bases visible; the back and side of the neck are dark grey and the underparts greyish or sooty black. The tail has narrower feathers and a greenish sheen.

A skilled flyer, the western jackdaw can manoeuvre tightly as well as tumble and glide. It has characteristic jerky wing beats when flying, though these are not evident when birds are migrating. On the ground, western jackdaws have an upright posture and strut briskly, their short legs giving them a rapid gait. They feed with their heads held down or horizontally.

Western jackdaws inhabit wooded steppes, pastures, cultivated land, coastal cliffs, and towns. They thrive when forested areas are cleared and converted to fields and open areas. Habitats with a mix of large trees, buildings, and open ground are preferred.

Western jackdaws usually breed in colonies with pairs collaborating to find a nest site, which they then defend from other pairs and predators during most of the year. They nest in cavities in trees or cliffs, in ruined or occupied buildings and in chimneys, the common feature being a sheltered site for the nest. The availability of suitable sites influences their presence in a locale. They may also use church steeples for nesting, a fact reported in verse by 18th century English poet William Cowper.

Nest platforms can attain a great size. A mated pair usually constructs a nest by improving a crevice by dropping sticks into it; it is then built on top of the platform formed. This behaviour has led to the blocking of chimneys and even resulted in nests crashing down into fireplaces, sometimes with birds still on them. Nests are lined with hair, wool, dead grass and many other materials. The eggs are a lighter colour than those of other corvids, being smooth, a glossy pale blue or blue-green with darker speckles ranging from dark brown to olive or grey-violet. The eggs are incubated by the female for 17–18 days until hatching as naked altricial chicks, which are completely dependent on the adults for food. They fledge after 28–35 days, and the parents continue to feed them for another four weeks or so. Replacement clutches are very rarely laid in the event of clutch failure.

Generally wary of people in the forest or countryside, western jackdaws are much tamer in urban areas. Like magpies, they are known to show interest in shiny objects such as jewellery. Highly gregarious, western jackdaws are generally seen in flocks of varying sizes, though males and females pair-bond for life and pairs stay together within flocks. Flocks increase in size in autumn and birds congregate at dusk for communal roosting, with up to several thousand individuals gathering at one site.

An ancient Greek and Roman adage runs "The swans will sing when the jackdaws are silent", meaning that educated or wise people will speak only after the foolish have become quiet. In Ancient Greek folklore, a jackdaw can be caught with a dish of oil. A narcissistic creature, it falls in while looking at its own reflection. The mythical Princess Arne Sithonis was bribed with gold by King Minos of Crete, and was punished by the gods for her greed by being transformed into an equally avaricious jackdaw, who still seeks shiny things. 

The Roman poet Ovid described jackdaws as harbingers of rain in his poetic work Amores. Pliny notes how the Thessalians, Illyrians, and Lemnians cherished jackdaws for destroying grasshoppers' eggs. The Veneti are fabled to have bribed the jackdaws to spare their crops.

In some cultures, a jackdaw on the roof is said to predict a new arrival; alternatively, a jackdaw settling on the roof of a house or flying down a chimney is an omen of death, and coming across one is considered a bad omen. A jackdaw standing on the vanes of a cathedral tower is said to foretell rain. The 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury records the story of a woman who, upon hearing a jackdaw chattering "more loudly than usual," grew pale and became fearful of suffering a "dreadful calamity", and that "while yet speaking, the messenger of her misfortunes arrived". 

Czech superstition formerly held that if jackdaws are seen quarreling, war will follow, and that jackdaws will not build nests at Sázava after being banished by Saint Procopius. The jackdaw is featured on the Ukrainian town of Halych's ancient coat of arms, the town's name allegedly being derived from the East Slavic word for the bird. In The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979), Milan Kundera notes that Franz Kafka's father Hermann had a sign in front of his shop with a jackdaw painted next to his name, since "kavka" means jackdaw in Czech.

The jackdaw was considered sacred in Welsh folklore as it nested in church steeples – it was shunned by the Devil because of its choice of residence. Nineteenth century belief in the Fens held that seeing a jackdaw on the way to a wedding was a good omen for a bride.

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The white-billed crow (Corvus woodfordi) is a member of the crow family found on the Solomon Islands.

It is a short and stocky forest bird (15.7–16 inches in length) with a short, squared-off tail and a relatively large head with a very distinctive deep and curved pale ivory-coloured bill with a darker tip. The dark nasal bristles, though not thick, are quite apparent against the pale coloured bill. The bird overall is very glossy black with a greenish-purple gloss to the head and purple gloss to the rest of the body. The iris is pale grey or white in the adult bird and the legs and feet are black.

The voice is described as being reminiscent of the Torresian crow but higher in pitch and faster, giving an "ao-ao-ao" sound.

This species is confined to the central part of the Solomon Islands and can be found specifically on the islands of Choiseul, Isabel and Guadalcanal where it forages in small family groups through the trees, feeding on various insects and fruits. It is normally difficult to view as it often remains well hidden in the high forest canopy while feeding and even flying low, just over the tops of the trees when moving on.

As is the case with many forest crows, there is little information on the species' breeding habits.

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The violaceous jay (Cyanocorax violaceus) is a species of bird in the family Corvidae, the crows and their allies. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. This species is mainly a lowland bird although locally this jay may variously range to elevations as high as 500-1,400 m.

This is a medium-large jay with dull violet-blue plumage and a striking dark face and throat. The violaceous jay is 13–15 inches long and weighs 262 grams.

The violaceous jay is omnivorous, mainly consuming fruits, insects, and bird and reptile eggs. It is also known to take small lizards as well.

Little is known in any detail about the violaceous jay's life history. Violaceous jays in Venezuela forage chiefly in the middle and upper canopy (above 18 meters) in a mature tropical evergreen rainforest. They take food items by hopping along limbs and gleaning for prey. It forages in flocks in forest canopy, and rarely lingers in one spot for long. These flocks often are noisy, but like other jays, the violaceous jay can be quiet and inconspicuous at times. They are known to frequently mob potential predators.

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The Unicolored Jay ranges, somewhat discontinuously, from eastern Mexico south to western Honduras and El Salvador. This jay is, as its name suggests, uniform dark blue, relieved only by a small area of black around the eyes. It is crestless and is rather long-tailed, with a comparatively heavy bill. Unicolored Jays are omnivorous residents of wet cloud forests at elevations between approximately 2100 and 3050 m, where they usually remain reasonably high in the trees, often foraging in lichens and bromeliads, and rarely visit the ground to feed.

The Unicolored Jay is 13 - 14 inches long. The bill and legs are strong, robust,  and black. Feathers are strong and rigid, similar to bristles that cover the nasal orifices. Overall deep blue to purplish blue. Sides of head and throat darker. Wings and tail are rounded. Males and females are similar. Juveniles have a yellow bill, which quickly becomes black; the head and body are a sooty gray; wings and tail are duller than in mature individuals. 

Unicolored Jays are social, intelligent, bold and noisy birds, quieter during the reproductive season. Usually found in small flocks at mid- to upper levels of forest, they sometimes form mixed flocks with other bird species such as the Azure-hooded Jay and White-throated Jay.

The Unicolored Jay is a cooperative breeder, i.e. the offsprings of the previous year and the females of the group (called helpers) assist parents in building the nest and care of new chicks. The nest is a platform of long branches in the outer and thin twigs in the center, in the middle has a cup woven with fine materials such as hair and rootlets. The eggs are gray-bluish to pale gray with brown markings. The female is responsible for incubating the eggs.  Juveniles are cared for for several weeks before they leave the nest altogether.

It is a Least Concern species worldwide, and it is believed that their populations are stable, but in Mexico is under the threatened category. There are no recent studies that clearly show the current status of their populations, and most aspects of its life story are unknown. Therefore, studies are required about its ecology, reproductive biology and food, and encourage studies aimed at conservation.

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