The black-headed jay or lanceolated jay (''Garrulus lanceolatus'') is roughly the same size as its close relative the Eurasian jay, but a little more slender overall except for the bill which is slightly shorter and thicker. The top of the head is black and it has a more obvious crest too and a longer tail. It ranges from eastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

eastwards, across the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

. It occurs in wooded country with large areas of open ground rather than dense forest. It also occurs in some cultivated areas and even near villages as long as there are enough trees and scrubland nearby. It feeds both on the ground and in trees, and takes virtually the same wide range of plant and animal foods as its close relative, including

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s and nestlings, as well as scraps near human habitation. It nests in trees and suitable bushes and in this resembles the Eurasian jay in every respect. There are usually 3–5 eggs incubated over 16 days. Both parents feed the young. The voice is very similar to its close relative too and is most often a loud screech but with longer pauses between.

Gallery

File:Black-headed Jay Pangot Uttarakhand India 04.10.2014.jpg, left, ''Garrulus lanceolatus'' from

Pangot Pangot is a village in the Kosiyakutoli tehsil of Nainital district in Uttarakhand, India, and a tourist destination at a height of 6,510 feet. Tourism Pangot Village is located about 13 kilometers from Nainital, which is a popular hill stati ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

at an altitude of around 6300 ft. File:Black-headed-jay-rkd.jpg, The black-headed jay (Garrulus lanceolatus) at Palampur in Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. File:Black-headed Jay.JPG, Black-headed Jay near Gallu temple in Himachal File:Black-headed jay DSCN0166 1.jpg, Black-headed Jay at

Sattal Sattal or Sat Tal (Hindi for "seven lakes") is an interconnected group of seven freshwater lakes situated in the Lower Himalayan Range near Bhimtal, a town of the Nainital district in Uttarakhand, India. During the British Raj, the area had a ...

References

External links

Avibase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1586915 black-headed jay Birds of Afghanistan Birds of Pakistan Birds of North India Birds of Nepal black-headed jay Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors