Mongolian Ground Jay

The Mongolian ground jay is 28 centimetres long and weighs 104–140 grams. It is a solid-looking bird with a large rounded head, a robust, pointed bill that is long and slightly decurved, rounded wings, a medium-length square-ended tail and strong, long legs. The plumage is beige on the head, breast and flanks, fading to whitish-grey on the throat and belly and paler still on the undertail, and shading to reddish-brown on the back and wings. The forehead and crown are blackish. (Italian Wikipedia, general species account)

A diurnal bird living in pairs or family groups, it returns at dusk to bushes or low branches to spend the night. It spends most of the time on the ground, a fast walker that probes the sand and crevices among rocks, and it flies only rarely. It is omnivorous, eating mostly insects, especially beetles and their larvae, plus other invertebrates, small lizards, berries and grain. It breeds from mid-March to early June, monogamously, in a cup nest low in a bush, and the young become independent about a month and a half after hatching. (Italian Wikipedia, general species account)