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| Lidth's jay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In theUeno Zoo,Japan | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Garrulus |
| Species: | G. lidthi |
| Binomial name | |
| Garrulus lidthi Bonaparte, 1850 | |
Lidth's jay (Garrulus lidthi), also known as theAmami jay, is apasserinebird in the familyCorvidae native to theRyukyu Islands, Japan.[1]
Measuring up to 38 cm (15 in) in total length,[1][2] it is slightly larger than its close relative theEurasian jay, with a proportionately stouter bill and also a longer tail. It has no discernible crest, with the headfeathers a velvety black, the shoulders and back a deep purplish blue and all other parts a rich chestnut purple.
Thisjay has a very restricted distribution occurring only on the southernJapanese islands ofAmami Ōshima andKakeromajima. It may have also been present onTokunoshima. It occurs in subtropical evergreen broadleaf forestsas well as in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed woodlands both in the lowlands and on the mountains.[1]
Food is largely made up of thenuts of the nativechinkapinCastanopsis cuspidata but includes smallreptiles andinvertebrates of many types.
The bird nests in large cavities in trees but otherwise the nest is the same as that of the other twoGarrulus species with 3–4eggs.
The voice is similar to that of theEurasian jay.
The species was threatened in the past by hunting for itsfeathers, which were used for decorating ladies' hats. More recently it has been threatened byintroducedsmall Indian mongooses, which were brought to its range to control the venomousOkinawa pit viper. The species is fully protected under Japanese law and is increasing in numbers thanks to control of the mongooses, which were finally eradicated in 2024.
The species name commemorates the Dutch zoologistTheodoor Gerard van Lidth de Jeude.
In 1965 it was chosen as the symbolic bird ofKagoshima Prefecture.[3]
