Xinjiang ground jay

Xinjiang ground jay (Podoces biddulphi) or Biddulph's ground jay, 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.

Xinjiang ground jay
Illustration by John Gerrard Keulemans in 1891
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Corvidae
Genus:	Podoces
Species:	P. biddulphi
Binomial name
Podoces biddulphi Hume, 1874

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.^[1] Its population is small, and its range is limited.^[2]

Breeding

The breeding season lasts from March to May.^[2] Females incubate clutches of 1-3 eggs for 18 days^[2] in open^[3] nests; they mainly incubate in the morning, and spend more time doing so if temperatures are low. When temperatures are high, they also shade the clutch. They prefer to nest toward the center of oases.^[2]

Parents share feeding duties.^[2]

Xinjiang ground jays are monogamous. They exhibit sexual dimorphism, and the males are larger than females.^[2]

They are sometimes attracted to human-influenced areas such as highways,^[4] but prefer not to nest near them.^[5]