Western Scrub Jay Aphelocoma californica

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Scrub Jay Cardinal looking for food at Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve, TX

There are 20 birds that belong to the Jay family. Scrub Jays pairs remain together the whole year, Srub Jays do not migrate! Western Scrub-Jays have been caught stealing acorns from Acorn Woodpecker caches and robbing seeds and pine cones from Clark’s Nutcrackers. When these birds go to hide their own acorns, they check first that no other jays are watching. You might see Western Scrub-Jays standing on the back of a mule deer. They’re picking off and eating ticks and other parasites. The deer seem to appreciate the help, often standing still and holding up their ears to give the jays access. Western Scrub-Jays live in two very different habitats: Coastal oak or montane pinyon pine woodlands. Populations that live around oaks developed stouter, more hooked beaks that help the birds hammer open acorns. Scrub-jays that live among pinyon pines have thinner, pointed beaks that are more adept at getting at the pine nuts hidden between pine cone scales. Region of Western Scrub Jay

Scrub Jay looking for sunflower seeds at Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve, TX

Habitat: Scrub Scrub, open woodlands, and suburban yards of the western United States (and Mexico). Along the Pacific seaboard, scrub-jays live near oaks: in oak scrub, oak woodlands, and the oak savannah of California’s Central Valley. They also live in the dense, shrub-choked chaparral and coastal sage that lines coastal hillsides. In the Great Basin, scrub-jays live mainly in pinyon pine and juniper woodlands. Food: Omnivore Western Scrub-Jays eat mostly insects and fruit during spring and summer, and switch to nuts and seeds during fall and winter. They eat small animals such as lizards and nestling birds, sometimes shadowing adult birds to find their nests. For plant material, scrub-jays eat acorns, pine nuts, juniper berries, and grass seeds; sunflower seeds and peanuts at feeders; as well as cultivated corn, almonds, walnuts, and cherries. Nesting Facts Clutch Size: 1–5 eggs Number of Broods 1 broods Egg Length: 0.9–1.3 in 2.4–3.4 cm Egg Width: 0.7–0.8 in 1.9–2 cm Incubation Period: 17–19 days Nestling Period: 17–19 days Egg Description: Pale green blotched with olive, or pale gray spotted with brown Condition at Hatching: Naked and helpless, eyes closed

Scrub Jay Cardinal looking for food at Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve, TX

Nest Description: Scrub-jay nests are made of a basket of twigs lined with rootlets, fine strands of plant fibers, and livestock hair. Nests take about 10 days to build and are about 6 inches (15 centimeters) across when finished. Both members of a pair help with building. Nest Placement: Tree Typically fairly low (6-14 feet high) in an oak, pinyon pine, or other tree or shrub. Nests are often well hidden amid foliage, vines, and mistletoe. Call: Western Scrub-Jay’s calls sound like Dzweep, dzweep Age: Birders know Western Scrub-Jays over 15 years old.

Scrub Jay looking for berries at Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve, TX Scrub Jay looking where food can be hidden

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