Species: Aphelocoma californica

Western Scrub-Jay

Species

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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

A crestless jay with a blue head, thin white eyebrow line, blue wings, long blue tail, whitish throat bordered by a streaked blue-gray breast band, and a bluish-gray or pale brownish back; juveniles are grayish above, with blue on the wings and tail; brightness and contrast of plumage varies geographically, with birds of interior populations duller overall and with less color contrast and a less conspicuous breast band (NGS 1983, Peterson 1990). Bill shape varies with habitat and available foods (short hooked bill in oak woodlands, long pointed bill in pinyon-juniper woodlands) (Peteron 1993). See Kaufman (1990) for detailed information on identification of scrub and gray-breasted jays.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Corvidae

Genus

Aphelocoma

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105554

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Chara - Geai buissonnier

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Corvidae - Aphelocoma - Formerly considered conspecific with A. COERULESCENS and A. INSULARIS (see AOU 1995). The three groups of this species may represent distinct species: A. CALIFORNICA (California Scrub-Jay), A. WOODHOUSEI (Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay), and A. SUMICHRASTI (Sumichrast's Scrub-Jay) (AOU 1998).

Ecology and Life History

Migration

true - false - false

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Feeds on nuts (acorns, pinyon nuts), grains (corn, oats), fruit, insects (wasps, bees, caterpillars cutworms, grasshoppers, etc.), mollusks, eggs and young of small birds, mice, shrews, frogs, lizards, etc. (Bent 1946).

Reproduction Comments

In Oaxaca, Mexico, nested at least from early April to late July (Burt and Peterson 1993). Clutch size is 2-7 (usually 4-6; 3 in Oaxaca, with reduction to 2 fledglings typical). Incubation lasts about 16 days, by female. Young are tended by parents and (in Oaxaca) young of previous brood. Young leave nest at about 18 days. First breeds as early as 1 year in some areas. Long-term pair bond. High adult survivorship. Breeds only in pairs in most of range (except southern end of range in Mexico). In Oaxaca, helpers aided in predator defense, territorial defense, and feeding fledglings; singular breeding was the norm (Burt and Peterson 1993).

Ecology Comments

Travels alone or in small family groups. In Oaxaca, Mexico, occurred in temporally stable groups of 2-6 adults; territories averaged 1.5 ha (Burt and Peterson 1993). In coastal California, territories averaged "about 3 ha" (Verbeek 1973), and in New Mexico, a single territory measured 2.1 ha (Hardy 1961).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-12-02

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-02

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

RESIDENT: southwestern Washington to southwestern Wyoming, Colorado, and central Texas south through the southwestern U.S. to southern Baja California and Oaxaca, Puebla, and west-central Veracruz, Mexico.

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105554