Western Scrub Jays
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The Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica), also known as California Jay or Long-tailed Jay, is a species of scrub-jay native to western North America, ranging from southern Washington to central Texas and central Mexico.
In recent years, it has expanded its range into the Puget Sound region of Washington. The Santa Cruz or Island Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma insularis), found only on Santa Cruz Island, and the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), a Floridan endemic, are its closest relatives.
The Western Scrub-jay is nonmigratory and can be found in urban areas, where it can become tame and will come to bird feeders.
Description
The Western Scrub-Jay is a large songbird, about 27-31 cm (11.5 in) in length (including its tail), with a 39 cm (15 in) wingspan, and about 80g in weight.
Coastal Pacific birds tend to be brighter in coloration than those of the interior, but all are patterned in blue, white and gray, though none as uniform in color as the related Mexican Jay.
In general, this species has a blue head, wings, and tail, a gray-brown back, and grayish underparts. The throat is whitish with a blue necklace.
Calls / Vocalization
The call is described as "harsh and scratchy".
Habitat
True to their name, Western Scrub-Jays inhabit areas of low scrub, preferring pinyon-juniper forests, oak woods and sometimes mesquite bosques. They also inhabit suburban gardens.
Diet / Feeding
Western Scrub-Jays usually forage in pairs, family groups or small non-kin groups, outside of the breeding season.
They feed on small animals, such as frogs and lizards, eggs and young of other birds, insects, and (particularly in winter) grains, nuts and berries.
Storing Food:
Western Scrub-Jays, like many other corvids, exploit ephemeral surpluses in food supply by storing food in scattered caches within their territories. In the process of collecting and storing this food, western scrub-jays have shown an ability to plan ahead in choosing cache sites to provide adequate food volume and variety for the future.
Western scrub-jays are also able to rely on their accurate observational spatial memories to steal food from caches made by conspecifics (birds of, or belonging to, the same species).
To protect their caches from these potential 'pilferers', food storing birds implement a number of strategies to reduce this risk of theft.
Western scrub-jays are also known for hoarding and burying brightly colored objects
Nesting
Nests are built low in trees or bushes, 1m to 10m above the ground, primarily by the female while the male guards her efforts.
The nests are sturdy, with an outside diameter of 33cm to 58cm, constructed on a platform of twigs with moss and dry grasses lined with fine roots and hair.
Four to six eggs are laid from March through July with some regional variations.
There are two common shell color variations:
- pale green background with irregular, olive-colored spots or markings, and
- pale grayish-white to green background with reddish-brown spots.
The female incubates the eggs for about 16 days. The young leave the nest about 18 days after hatching.
Diseases
The Western Scrub-Jay is one of the species whose populations are being adversely affected by the West Nile Virus, particularly in California's Central Valley.
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