BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Aphelocoma coerulescens | Scrub Jay 



TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS : 
Courtship - As early as January (for Florida subspecies); 
            build communal nests shortly after, from February to June;
            mate for life
Clutch - lay three to five eggs between March and July; will lay 
         one successful clutch per season; 17 days incubation
Maturation - 1 year, but young birds remain with parents for an average
             of 2 years (up to 5 years) to help raise subsequent
             clutches
Lifespan - average of 4.5 years; may live up to 11 years [9,18,21,23]


PREFERRED HABITAT : 
Florida scrub jays prefer dense thickets of sand pine scrub, oak
flatwoods, recently burned sites, and shore dune thickets.  Thickets,
however, must have many open, sandy places for birds to feed [21].
Florida scrub jays will build nests in myrtle oak, Chapman oak, and
scrub palmetto (Serenoa spp.) but not in dense sand pine.  Florida scrub
jay populations are usually higher in oak cover between 3 and 6 feet
(1-3 m) high.  They will decrease in number with an increase in grass
cover and woody cover (other than oak) that is less than 3 feet (1 m)
high [9].  Scrub jays tend to build their nests within 1.5 to 7.5 feet
(0.5-2.5 m) of the ground [23].  In the West scrub jays build their
nests in pinyon pine (Pinus spp.) and other scrubby vegetation [10].
They also frequent willow-lined (Salix spp.) streambanks and scrubby
mountain foothills [18].  During winter they sometimes are found near
cultivated fields.  Scrub jays have been reported at elevations of 6,000
to 9,000 feet (1,829-2,743 m) in Colorado [18].  In other areas of the
Great Basin, scrub jays are found from 7,550 to 9,000 feet (2,300-2,750
m) in elevation [7].


COVER REQUIREMENTS : 
Florida scrub jays nest in low, dense thickets of oak or wax myrtle
(Myrica cerifera) [21,23]; some thickets, however, may be too dense for
nesting.  These thickets must be interspersed with sandy openings for
feeding.  Florida scrub jays rarely use habitats with greater than 50
percent canopy cover [9].  Optimum habitat has been listed as oaks 1.5
to 6 feet (1-3 m) high covering 50 to 75 percent of the home range,
interspersed with bareground or vegetation less than 5.9 inches (15 cm)
high covering 10 to 30 percent of the home range [9].


FOOD HABITS : 
Scrub jays eat a variety of foods from grains, acorns, fruits, and nuts
to frogs, lizards, arthropods, moths, bees, spiders, turtles, and mice
[2,9,10,18,20].  Acorns and pinyon pine seeds are two of the most
important plant foods.


PREDATORS : 
The biggest threat to the Florida scrub jay is habitat destruction by
man [9].  Predators include many species of snake, crows, magpies, and
other jays (Corvids), bobcat (Felis rufus), and the grey fox (Urocyon
cinereoargenteus) [21].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Because it caches nuts, the scrub jay can have a significant impact on
the regeneration of pinyon pine and its distribution and density [2,13].

In Florida the scrub jay does not disperse far from where it hatches.
This can lead to habitat saturation, where no available nesting space
opens for young breeding birds.  Habitat destruction, by the birds
themselves, can result from this overcrowding [9,21].

Clearcut sand pine stands in Florida tend to recover faster than burned
stands; thus scrub jays can recolonize clearcut stands more quickly than
burned stands [9].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Aphelocoma coerulescens | Scrub Jay