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Crows (Corvidae)

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) - HBW 14, p. 588

French: Geai des chênes German: Eichelhäher Spanish: Arrendajo Euroasiático
Other common names: Common/European/Acorn/White-eared Jay; Black-crowned Jay ("cervicalis group"); Black-capped Jay ("atricapillus group"); Iranian Jay (hyrcanus); Brandt's Jay ("brandtii group"); Japanese Jay ("japonicus group"); Himalayan/Red-crowned Jay ("bispecularis group"); White-faced Jay ("leucotis group")

Taxonomy: Corvus Glandarius Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Geographical variation complex, races divided into eight groups: European "nominate group" (first eleven races listed below), N African "cervicalis group" (whitakeri, minor, cervicalis), Middle Eastern "atricapillus group" (samios, anatoliae, iphigenia, krynicki, atricapillus), "Caspian group" (hyrcanus), Siberian "brandtii group" (brandtii, kansuensis, pekingensis), "japonicus group" (japonicus, tokugawae, hiugaensis, orii), Chinese "bispecularis .. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Corvus Glandarius Linnaeus,1758. Sweden.
Geographical variation complex, races divided into eight groups: European "nominate group" (first eleven races listed below), N African "cervicalis group" (whitakeri, minor, cervicalis), Middle Eastern "atricapillus group" (samios, anatoliae, iphigenia, krynicki, atricapillus), "Caspian group" (hyrcanus), Siberian "brandtii group" (brandtii, kansuensis, pekingensis), "japonicus group" (japonicus, tokugawae, hiugaensis, orii), Chinese "bispecularis group" (sinensis, taivanus, bispecularis, interstinctus, oatesi), and Indochinese "leucotis group" (haringtoni, leucotis). DNA research into relationships among these groups has so far been limited, but revealed only minor differences of little significance. Numerous additional forms have been described, all of doubtful validity, the majority referable to intermediate populations, and these are best treated as synonyms of recognized races: thus, armoricanus and caledoniensis are synonyms of rufitergum, septentrionalis of nominate, lusitanicus of fasciatus, and yugoslavicus and jordansi of albipectus; oenops and theresae are synonyms of minor; rhodius, zervasi, chiou, susianae and hansguentheri are synonyms of anatoliae, and nigifrons of krynicki; caspius is a synonym of hyrcanus; sewerzowii, bambergi, pallidifrons, kurilensis and ussuriensis are synonyms of brandtii, and diaphorus is a synonym of pekingensis; namiyei is a synonym of japonicus, and schimoizumii of hiugaensis; and insularis is a synonym of taivana, persaturatus and azureitinctus are synonyms of interstinctus, and rufescens, rubrosus and minhoensis are synonyms of sinensis. Thirty-four subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • hibernicus Witherby & E. J. O. Hartert, 1911 - Ireland.
  • rufitergum E. J. O. Hartert, 1903 - C & S Scotland, England, Wales and NW France.
  • glandarius ( Linnaeus, 1758) - N & C Europe E to Urals.

     See all 34 subspecies
  • hibernicus Witherby & E. J. O. Hartert, 1911 - Ireland.
  • rufitergum E. J. O. Hartert, 1903 - C & S Scotland, England, Wales and NW France.
  • glandarius ( Linnaeus, 1758) - N & C Europe E to Urals.
  • fasciatus ( A. E. Brehm, 1857) - Spain and Portugal.
  • corsicanus Laubmann, 1912 - Corsica.
  • ichnusae O. Kleinschmidt, 1903 - Sardinia.
  • albipectus O. Kleinschmidt, 1920 - Italy, Sicily and Dalmatian coast.
  • graecus Keve-Kleiner, 1939 - W Balkans, including mainland Greece.
  • ferdinandi Keve-Kleiner, 1943 - E Bulgaria and adjacent N Thrace.
  • cretorum R. Meinertzhagen, 1920 - Crete.
  • glaszneri Madarász, 1902 - Cyprus.
  • whitakeri E. J. O. Hartert, 1903 - N Morocco and NW Algeria.
  • minor J. Verreaux, 1857 - C Morocco and Saharan Atlas range of Algeria.
  • cervicalis Bonaparte, 1853 - N & NE Algeria and Tunisia.
  • samios Keve-Kleiner, 1939 - Samos and possibly Kos (Greece), in SE Aegean Sea.
  • anatoliae Seebohm, 1883 - W, C & E Turkey E to N Iraq and W Iran.
  • iphigenia Sushkin & Ptuschenko, 1914 - Crimea.
  • krynicki Kaleniczenko, 1839 - Caucasus & NE Turkey.
  • atricapillus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1832 - W Syria, W Jordan and adjacent part of Israel.
  • hyrcanus Blanford, 1873 - S Caspian forests of SE Azerbaijan and N Iran.
  • brandtii Eversmann, 1842 - S Siberia from Urals E to Sakhalin I, S to N Mongolia, NW & NE China, Korea and N Japan (Hokkaido).
  • kansuensis Stresemann, 1928 - C China (Qinghai, Gansu and NW Sichuan).
  • pekingensis Reichenow, 1905 - E China (S Liaoning, Beijing Shanxi, Hebei).
  • japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1847 - C Japan (Honshu and Oshima).
  • tokugawae Takatsukasa, 1931 - Sado I (off Honshu).
  • hiugaensis Momiyama, 1927 - Kyushu (SC Japan).
  • orii Nagamichi Kuroda, 1923 - Yakushima (S Japan).
  • sinensis Swinhoe, 1871 - SC, S & E China and N Myanmar.
  • taivanus Gould, 1863 - Taiwan.
  • bispecularis Vigors, 1831 - W Himalayas E to W Nepal.
  • interstinctus E. J. O. Hartert, 1918 - E Himalayas, S Assam and SE Xizang.
  • oatesi Sharpe, 1896 - NW Myanmar.
  • haringtoni Rippon, 1905 - W Myanmar.
  • leucotis Hume, 1874 - C & E Myanmar, S China (S Yunnan), Thailand and C & S Indochina.
  • Least Concern

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