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Western Scrub-Jay

Aphelocoma californicaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Crows and Jays (Corvidae)
Western Scrub-Jay Head Illustration_2

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Dark brown.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Plain, Streaked, Eyering (complete or broken)
  • Crown Color: Blue
  • Forehead Color: Blue
  • Nape Color: Blue
  • Throat Color: White, sometimes with blue or gray.
  • Cere color: No Data
Western Scrub-Jay Body Illustration_2

Body

  • Length Range: 28 cm (11 in)
  • Weight: 79 g (2.8 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: Blue, White, Brown, Gray
  • Underparts: White with gray wash.
  • Upperparts: Gray-brown back with blue wings.
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked, Solid
Western Scrub-Jay Flight Illustration_2

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Steady buoyant wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 41 cm (16 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Blue
  • Under Tail: Blue-gray
  • Leg Color: Black
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Jays and Magpies (Corvidae)_blue
Species Aphelocoma californica
Length11 Inches
Wingspan16 Inches

Western Scrub-Jay

Western Scrub-Jay: Medium, crestless jay, blue head, wings, tail, gray mask, back, pale gray underparts. Dark-streaked, white throat bordered by dark necklace. Bill, legs, feet are black. Eats grains, fruits, insects, frogs, lizards and eggs and young of other birds. Flies with steady wing beats.

● Song: "jay", "jree", "check-check-check"

● Foraging & Feeding: Western Scrub-Jay: Diet consists of insects, grains, small lizards, frogs, fruits, and eggs and young of other birds; forages in trees and on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Western Scrub-Jay: Two to seven light gray or green eggs spotted with brown, red brown, or olive, are laid in a twiggy nest well hidden in a tree or dense shrub. Incubation ranges from 15 to 17 days and is carried out by the female. Male feeds female during incubation.

● Similar species: Western Scrub-Jay: Mexican Jay has uniform underparts lacking the white throat and dark collar. Pinyon Jay has blue underparts and shorter tail.

Flight Pattern

Steady buoyant wing beats.
Western Scrub-Jay Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Western Scrub-Jay: Resident from Washington, Wyoming, and Colorado south to Texas and Mexico. Preferred habitats include scrub oak, woodlands, and chaparral. Also inhabits suburban gardens.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight2.8 Ounces