In the Jays the bill is strong, about three-quarters the length of the head and the commissure is straight. The nasal bristles are short and numerous, completely covering the nostrils. The tail is of medium length and slightly graduated.
G. lanceolatus has been separated generically under the name Laletris on account of its crested crown and more stiffened feathers of the throat. These characters are, however, only questions of degree and I see no reason to accept them as generic in the Jays when we discard far greater differences as of no value specifically in other birds.
Key to Species.
| A. |
Tail blue barred with black
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|
G. lanceolatus, p. 60. |
- B. Tail all black.
| a. |
Forehead white, crown black or black and white.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
|
G. leucotis, p. 61. |
| b. |
Forehead and crown vinaceous like the back.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
|
G. bispecularis, p. 62. |
(39) Garrulus lanceolatus.
The Black-throated Jay.
- Garrulus lanceolatus Vigors, P. Z. S., 1830, p. 7 (Himalayas); Blanf. & Oates, i, p.38.
Vernacular names. Ban sarrah (of the Simla hillmen).
Description. Forehead, crown, nape, crest and sides of the head black; remainder of upper plumage vinous grey, brighter on the rump and upper tail-coverts; tail blue, barred with black, tipped with white and with a broad subterminal band of black; primaries and secondaries black, barred with blue on the outer web; the primaries narrowly, the outer secondaries broadly tipped white; the inner secondaries grey, with a subterminal black band and a white tip; lesser coverts vinous, the median and greater black; primary coverts almost entirely white; winglet barred with blue and tipped with white.
Chin, throat and foreneck black with white shaft-streaks, the black terminating in a patch of iron grey on the upper breast; remainder of the lower plumage and sides of the neck vinous grey, brighter than the back.
Colours of soft parts. Legs and feet livid flesh or slaty pink; claws more horny; bill slaty pink at base, yellowish at tip; iris red-brown, red or deep red-lake. The colour of the iris probably changes with age.
Measurements. Length about 225 to 235 mm.; wing 150 to 155 mm.; tail about 160 to 175 mm,; tarsus 32 to 34 mm.; culmen about 27 mm.
Distribution. The Himalayas from Chitral and Hazara to Nepal and the whole of Garhwal and Kashmir up to some 8,000 feet.
