Plesky jay

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Plesky jay
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Corvoidea
Family : Corvids (Corvidae)
Genre : Saxaul jay ( Podoces )
Type : Plesky jay
Scientific name
Podoces pleskei
Zarudny , 1896

The plesk jay ( Podoces pleskei ) is a species of raven bird that is endemic to eastern Iran . It was named after the Russian ornithologist Theodor Pleske .

description

The Plesky hayman is a relatively small raven bird and is about the size of a blackbird with a body length of 24 cm . The average weight is between 85 and 90 g. There is no gender dimorphism .

The beak is relatively narrow and slightly bent down, the iris dark brown. The color of the head, neck, top and bottom is a warm sand beige, which can play a little pink and becomes whitish towards the throat and the under tail-coverts. The black rein is very wide and stretches a little over the ear covers as a narrow eye stripe. There is a black spot on the throat that widens downward and extends to the middle of the front chest. The wrist wings are white on the basal two-quarters and black in the apical third. The wings are shiny blue-black with wide, white tips. The black upper wing-coverts also have white tips; the middle arm covers are banded in black and white and the small arm covers are sand-colored. Like the control feathers, the upper tail covers are glossy black. Legs and feet are light gray.

The youth dress is insufficiently described. Apparently the black throat patch is missing and the beak is pink.

voice

Most often one hears of this species a long, piercing series of trilling whistles, which sounds something like tsiee tsiee tsiee tsiee and is reminiscent of the calls of the cliff glue ( Sitta tephronota ). It is often performed from an elevated viewing point such as the top of a bush in the early morning. It can also be heard less often in the evening hours.

Distribution and existence

The Plesky Jay is endemic to the east-central part of Iran. It is usually only scattered, but can be common locally. The core occurrences of this species are in Dasht-e Lut and in the far east of Kermans . The distribution extends north to Schahrud , west to Yazd and south to the Iranian part of Balochistan . One record comes from the Namakazar basin in the extreme south of the Razavi-Khorasan province , on the border with Afghanistan , and another from the vicinity of Nok Kundi on the border with Pakistan . An occurrence in Pakistan has not yet been proven.

Way of life

The Pleskehead inhabits sandy desert plains as well as zygophyllum and mugwort steppes , in which, in addition to scattered shrubbery, there are also herbaceous plants such as calligonum , salt herbs or sea pests . The altitude distribution ranges from 900 to 2000 m. The species is a resident bird , but it can dismigrate in the winter months .

The species feeds omnivorously , whereby the food spectrum can vary greatly depending on the season. In spring, insects such as weevils , black beetles and termites play a role. Small lizards are also captured. From autumn, the proportion of plant-based food such as cereals, melon or zygophyllum seeds dominates. In addition, some insects are added as food. The Plesky Jay builds supplies and thus plays an important role in the spread of desert plants.

The birds are usually found in pairs or in family groups of up to six specimens. Foraging activity peaks in the morning and evening. Sometimes the species can also be found on slopes and on the outskirts of the village, where it primarily looks for grain. Most of the time she behaves very shyly, but in some cases can also be very trusting. It rarely flies and moves around a lot. In case of danger it disappears remarkably quickly between the desert bushes.

There is an annual brood. Presumably the animals lead a monogamous permanent marriage and stay together all year round. The main laying time falls in the first half of March. The only nest documented so far was a carefully built bowl made of twigs, lined with plant wool and well hidden in a Calligonum bush at a height of about 80 cm . The clutch consists of 4–6 eggs, the incubation period is unknown. The young are fed by both parents and leave the nest after about 15-18 days. They follow the parents and move up to 500 m from the nest. They fledge after 24–28 days. The family associations exist for several weeks before they apparently disperse in the autumn.

Systematics

The Pleskehay was first described by Nikolai Alexejewitsch Sarudny in 1896 . The type specimen comes from "Alkhor" (presumably Alghur ) in the province of Khorasan in Iran. The monotypic species is the Schwestertaxon of Saxaulhähers ( Podoces panderi ). They differ from the other species of the genus by the lack of black on the vertex, the short upper tail-coverts, the light-colored legs and the black throat patch.

literature

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