Corvidae

Black-headed Jay

Garrulus lanceolatus

Long-tailed and clever, with a smart black crown and a barred blue wing — a bird forever turning up where you are.

Seen atKunja ·Jageshwar ·Barechhina ·Ranikhet

Opens recordings on xeno-canto, the open bird-sound archive.

Stay in the The Jay Room In the Lap of Nature

What the hills call it

Karaul

/ ka·raul /करौल

KumaoniBird

Black-headed Jay — Long-tailed and clever, with a smart black crown and a barred blue wing — a bird forever turning up where you are.

Field notes

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae · Crows & jays
Genus: Garrulus
Length: 28–33 cm
Weight: 70–90 g
At Kunja: Resident — here all year round
Conservation: Least Concern

How to know it

A pinkish-grey jay with a glossy black crown and crest and a black-streaked throat, set off by a beautiful barred blue-and-black panel on the wing and a long, blue-barred tail.

What it eats

Omnivorous — acorns, seeds, fruit and berries, alongside insects, eggs and the odd nestling. Like other jays it caches food, burying acorns to dig up later, and so quietly helps plant the next stand of oaks.

Where & when to spot it

Around the wooded edges of the village — the oak and pine slopes, the orchard, the field margins. Bold and curious, it often comes right up to the houses, hopping along walls and rooftops with its tail cocked.

Nesting & mating

Pairs build a cup of twigs, roots and grass, well hidden in the fork of a tree or tall bush. Three to five eggs are raised in late spring; both parents feed the young, which stay with them well into summer.

In the field

When we’ve seen it

Most often photographed in March, usually in the middle of the day. That makes spring a clear window to spot it around the homestay.

Spotting tip: head out in the middle of the day, walk slowly and stop often, and listen as much as you look — most of these birds call before they show themselves.

In the lens