Kig-Yar

The Kig-Yar, or Jackals as humans call them, serve as snipers and scouts within the Covenant due to their exceptional senses of sight, smell and hearing. They were the first Covenant species encountered by UNSC ground forces.

They commonly carry Plasma Pistols, but may also be found carrying plasma rifles, needlers and carbines. Sniper Jackals are equipped with particle beam rifles for maximum damage and range. In addition, all but the snipers carry a powerful handheld energy shield. The most effective way of killing them is to throw a grenade behind their shield or to melee-attack them. At 5'8 ", Jackals are somewhat smaller than the average human. It should be noted that while the Halo manual claims that Jackals are five feet eight inches tall, they are over six and a half feet in the game.

In Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, the Jackals are always first encountered during the second level. The Jackals are never found on human ships for some odd reason. This may have something to do with the fact that their shields seem vulnerable to melee damage, limiting the Jackals' deployment options.

Culture
Unlike races such as the Unggoy, the Kig-Yar were space-faring long before joining the Covenant. As such, the Jackals are unique among Covenant species: rather than faithful followers of the Prophets' religion, they are mercenaries working for the Covenant and pay only the barest lip service to The Great Journey. In their quest for profit, Jackals frequently operate as "privateers" (with commissions granted by the Ministry of Tranquility) against civilian human vessels.

Jackals have little status in the Covenant hierarchy, and are subservient to all but the Grunts. Although they technically stand as equals with the Grunts, the reality is that Jackals are usually in an elevated position. While the other races consider the Grunts beneath notice, the Jackals are often purposefully cruel to them in order to assure themselves of their own superiority.

Jackals are not permitted by the Elites to have more than one name, but Jackal society had never placed a premium on such things, so they don't care. Jackal names are invariably single syllable, with two consonants and one vowel, such as Yeg, Jak, and Bok. The ranking authorities in Covenant society have been known to feed prisoners to Jackals, perhaps indicating that the Jackals are more bloodthirsty and cruel than previously seen in combat.

Rank Structure

 * Jackal Minors are signified by a blue armor and tan skin and serve as general infantry. In Halo CE some also had black skin. They also have blue arm shields. In the first Halo game, many had helmets as well.
 * Jackal Majors are slightly more elevated and are signified by an orange shield and orange armor and skin. Not much is different about their appearance other than their shield color and, in Halo 2, the clothing under their armor, which is orange.
 * Sniper Jackals have gray armor and do not carry energy shields, as both their hands are used to operate beam rifles, the Covenant long range sniper weapon. However, if sufficient distance is closed, they may drop their Beam Rifle and bring out a Plasma Pistol as they retreat from an advancing opponent. In Halo 2 they can also be identified with having gray clothing under their armor.
 * Ranger Jackals are now a defunct section of the Covenant ranks. They once operated alongside Ranger Elites, but have since been replaced by Drones.

Unknown
In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx a high ranking Jackal in Red armor is mentioned but it is unsure where these red armor Jackals fit in to the ranking scheme. It is assumed to be above Major Jackal.

Physiology
Jackals are vaguely birdlike in appearance, with feather-like "hair" on their heads, arms, and feet. They have three fingers on each hand, and beak-like teeth. ONI scientists have noted a great variance in skin tone and color between Jackals, and they have discovered some kind of spots or patterns that cover their bodies. Some colors of Jackal skins include dark orange and dark green. Although the Jackals vary in skin color, their blood is always purple in color. They appear to be predominantly left-handed, as none have been seen holding a firearm with their right hand. (Although all Jackal's hold their shields in their right arm, but as for the sniper Jackals, their Shields maybe nearby, so they might not be an entirely new class of Jackal.) The boots they wear are shaped in the way a bird's foot is,and they have visible shaped talon stubs on it.

Changes from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 2
In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Jackals wore more armor, and often had helmets, had shorter, stubbier beaks, more jewel-like eyes, and came in two skin color variations: dark green and dark orange. They are more avian looking in Halo 2. It is unknown why these changes happened, and if the Halo 2 Jackals are a different variety/race of Jackals then the ones in Halo or if the changes were mostly just graphical. Besides the aesthetic differences, there has also been changes in the way the Jackal Personal Arm Shield works and looks, and the addition of a sniper rank. In neither game do Jackals utilize Plasma Grenades, although they do carry grenades in Halo 2.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, Jackals hunt predominantly in pairs (though more than one pair may be present in certain areas). In Halo 2, shielded Jackals work primarily in teams upwards of four, though they are occassionally found in pairs. Sniper Jackals can also be found working in teams on occassions.

Trivia

 * 'Kig-Yar' is Breton for 'chicken' and Welsh for 'chicken meat'.
 * Jackals apparently used the Spiker as an illegal sidearm before the Brutes cast out the Elites
 * Several pieces of Jackal dialog are English sentences that have been reversed and sped up.
 * Although Jackals in Halo 2 carry grenades, they are never seen using them. This is likely because of the fact that, in terms of game mechanics, they 'dual-wield' their energy shield with whatever other weapon they are carrying.
 * When playing as the Arbiter, you may give Jackals plasma pistols, plasma rifles, needlers, magnums and SMGs. They may also be given carbines and battle rifles; however, this is due to a glitch, and the animation is flawed. On a modded level of "Outskirts" where you play as a Jackal, you can pick up human Sniper Rifles because the sniping weapons have the same tags. And the animation is near perfect to.
 * Jackals will eat Grunt meat whenever possible. Grunts also sometimes get fed to the Jackals for making errors in combat.
 * Jackals supposedly "Taste like chicken".
 * A running joke about them is to use a Flame Thrower on them to get a dish similar to chicken.
 * In Halo 2, Jackals feature a reloading animation for the Needler, and the Needler only.

Related Links

 * Jackal Personal Arm Shield