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  Profile

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  In flight

Clever Corvids

California Scrub-Jay

Aphelocoma californica

• rare
• 38 km/h
• Least Concern

Holds funerals. When one dies, nearby jays gather silently for minutes.

Population

Global population estimated at ~2,480,000 mature individuals (per IUCN/BirdLife assessment, listed under the pre-split name "Western Scrub-jay" but keyed to the current Aphelocoma californica taxon), including ~1,990,000 in the USA; trend is decreasing but not steeply enough to affect Red List status

Habitat

Low-elevation scrub, oak woodlands, pinyon-juniper forest, chaparral, and edges of mixed evergreen forest; also very common in suburban gardens, parks, and backyards

Fun fact

California Scrub-Jays have been documented picking ticks and other parasites off mule deer, with the deer standing still (even raising their ears) to let the jay work — a rare bird-mammal grooming partnership, confirmed by both the National Audubon Society and Cornell's All About Birds.

Range

Pacific coast of North America; sources vary slightly on the northern limit — Cornell/Wikipedia describe the range as extending from Washington state (with Wikipedia further noting range expansion into southern British Columbia) south through California (west of the Sierra Nevada) and western Nevada near Reno, continuing to Baja California, Mexico; non-migratory, year-round resident throughout

Diet

Omnivorous: acorns and other nuts/seeds (cached and retrieved later), insects, small vertebrates such as lizards and frogs, bird eggs and nestlings, berries, and backyard fruit/feeder food (sunflower seeds and peanuts favored)

Size

0.29 m

Wingspan

0.39 m

Lifespan

15.75 years