AKA Pander's Ground-Jay Podoces panderiThis obliging bird was deep in the Kyzyl Kum Desert. Sometimes they can be very hard to see on the ground but this one kept hopping up to survey his territory.On this birding trip, I gave up on using an adapter and grabbed some hand-held digiscoping shots.
Observed in Madera Canyon, Arizona. It is very like a Scrub Jay but it does not have the white line over the eye, nor does it have the blue band around the chest. It's back is also not as brown as that of the Scrub Jay.