Island jay, Santa cruz jay
The island scrub jay (Aphelocoma insularis ), also known as the island jay or Santa Cruz jay, is a bird in the genus, Aphelocoma, which is endemic to Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California. Of the over 500 breeding bird species in the continental U.S. and Canada, it is the only insular endemic landbird species.
The genus name, Aphelocoma, comes from the Latinized Ancient Greek apheles- (from ἀφελής-) "simple" + Latin coma (from Greek kome κόμη) "hair", in reference to the lack of striped or banded feathers in this genus, compared to other jays. The species name, insularis, comes from the Latin for "from an island".
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Monogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe island scrub jay is closely related to the California scrub jay (the coastal population found on the adjacent mainland), but differs in being larger, more brightly colored, and having a markedly stouter bill. They will bury, or cache, the acorns in the fall and may eat them months later. They also eat insects, spiders, snakes, lizards, mice and other birds' eggs and nestlings.
The island scrub jay is found only on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of California's Channel Islands with an area of 250 km2 (96 mi2). The island is a nature reserve, the eastern 24% being administered by National Park Service as the part of the Channel Islands National Park and the rest of the island by the Nature Conservancy. Fossil remains for island scrub jays have been found on Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands.
Island scrub jays occur in oak chaparral and bishop pine (Pinus muricata ) woodland on Santa Cruz Island. Island scrub jays in pine habitat have longer, shallower bills than individuals in oak habitat; variation in bill shape is heritable, and individuals mate nonrandomly with respect to bill morphology.
Females lay 3 to 5 eggs. Incubation lasts approximately 20 days. These jays are generally monogamous and, unlike some other jays, are not cooperative breeders. Both sexes build a nest 1 m (3 ft) to 8 m (26 ft) above the ground. Further details in.
The island scrub jay is classed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because its small range makes it potentially vulnerable to a catastrophic incident such as disease or a large fire that destroys their habitat. Population size in 2008 and 2009 was estimated to be 1700 - 2300, making this one of the rarest songbird species in the United States. The entire range of island scrub jays is currently protected in Channel Islands National Park and the species is not at imminent risk of extinction. However, the establishment of West Nile virus (WNV) in southern California in 2003 may pose a threat if it crosses to Santa Cruz Island from the mainland. Corvids are especially vulnerable to WNV. In addition, the increased occurrence of wildfires in southern California may portend a catastrophic fire there. Shrub cover has increased since the removal of sheep (1980–91) and feral pigs (2005–07) from Santa Cruz Island, which may increase the fire risk. Overgrazing by non-native ungulates may have caused extirpation of island scrub jays on Santa Rosa Island. Re-establishing a second population of island scrub jays on Santa Rosa Island may accelerate the restoration of native plant and tree species because of the scatter-hoarding seed caching behavior of Aphelocoma species.
