Scrub Jay facts: blue birds of the west coast | Animal Fact Files

Scrub jays are basically the west coast equivalent of blue jays in the United States (except one species does occur on the east coast...). There are multiple species of scrub jays and their relatives, and they may be found in Central America, as well. Scrub jays are about the same size as blue jays and they love to eat acorns! Sometimes young scrub jays will stick around with their parents and help raise their siblings - other times they just leave as soon as they're able. Join us on this episode of Animal Fact Files to learn more about these bright blue birdies.
Scientific Name: genus - Aphelocoma
Range: North and Central America (a "New World" genus)
Size: 1 foot (30.5cm) long; 17 inch (43cm) wingspan
Diet: acorns, pine nuts, eggs, insects, lizards, seeds, nectar, etc.
Life Span: 1+ year
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Image and Video Credits:
funkenbeachin - • Common, wild birds, fu...
sciloj - • Western scrub jay (Aph...
Natural Reflection - • Western Scrub-Jay at F...
Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren - • Scrub Jay - Merritt Is...
MF99K - • Taking Care of Baby Sc...
17muses - • Izabael Dajinn has a W...
Melissa McMasters - www.flickr.com/photos/cricket...
Martin Cathrae - www.flickr.com/photos/3406707...
Phil - www.flickr.com/photos/poqua/2...
Danielle Brigida - www.flickr.com/photos/brigida...
VJAnderson - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Sarah Stierch (CC BY 4.0) - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Devon Pike - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Mwanner at the English language Wikipedia - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Bob Peterson - vimeo.com/12129678
Andrea Shea - vimeo.com/85047240
William Warrior - vimeo.com/55583962
Research Credits:
www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRp...
www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c8...
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
faculty.jsd.claremont.edu/dgut...
books.google.com/books?id=Ahl...
books.google.com/books?id=HPI...
books.google.com/books?id=_b-...
books.google.com/books?id=xVP...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...

[@davidcastillo1340]

I left peanuts for a squirrel living in my tree, but instead one of these sassy scrub jays came and helped herself. Now we have a daily ritual. They sit next to my window and screech until I come out with delicious unsalted peanuts, and come back for lunch later in the day.

[@plutooliver686]

😍I love that they call for you they are so fantastic! I also feed a pair of scrub jays unsalted peanuts from apartment my window.They will fly in sit on the window seal pick out which peanut they want look at me and fly off. If they don't like the size peanuts or if i hadn't put any out they will wait in a tree near by for me to exchange or put more out and then come back 😁

[@spacekitt.n]

i have a scrub jay that does this too, comes and squawks at my window knowing im there and will feed him if he's loud enough. scrub jays are really smart birds, they have us trained

[@CS-ys4sy]

We have baby scrub jays that yell at our bedroom window now lol. They will take them from our hands. If we make the mistake of forgetting the peanuts, we get swooped and scolded lol. Very comical birds! Very smart as well.

[@spacekitt.n]

they are HUGE peanut fans. how can you not be? delicious nutritious plus they are cheap as all get out

[@maestro-zq8gu]

I've had wild ones land on my lap while hiking. They are so curious and bold!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

That would be an amazing experience!

[@LazyIRanch]

I've been feeding a pair of friendly ravens for years who are trusting me more and more. My goal is to get them to take food from my hand. A pair of beautiful scrub jays recently started hanging around the special feeder I made for the ravens, and they are already hopping over to me to check out what food I'm bringing them. I have a feeling, they will be the first to take a peanut from my hand. Beautiful birds! My raven buddies bring me gifts though, lots of things I keep in a large bag. They like round things, so they've brought me enough metal washers in various sizes that I probably won't need to buy any. The coolest thing yet is the tiny pair of titanium snips they brought me. They retail for @ $18 so that's a tool I wouldn't have bought myself. They took them from one of the local cannabis growers, because they were covered in sticky resin I was able to clean off. Makes me laugh to think someone processing buds set those down and never found them again! HA! They're mine now! The day before the ravens gifted me those snips, they watched me cutting brush with a pair of loppers, basically a bigger version of the tool they brought me. How smart is that???

[@lal7933]

I am in Seattle and these beautiful creatures come to see me every day. I feed them walnuts so I'm sure that's why I hear them calling all day 🤣 thanks for this video ❤

[@AnimalFactFiles]

That's so cool you get to see them!

[@CooCooSuckafoo]

I'm in the area too and feed peanuts to Steller's Jays, Crows, and Squirrels. Suddenly one of these started showing up and I didn't know what it was except for the most annoying bird I've ever heard! lol

[@mjolnirplissken7032]

These birds are fascinating and I have witnessed them in the CA bay area working almost like a wolf pac. This was probably the first critter that showed me very young that animals talk and that it's possible to understand the language of an animal.. Sadly many people never grasp this idea. As a kid I was enamored by this sleek-headed squawker as his kind was the only bird who had a set big enough to swoop down on the dog's food bowl and scarf his food right in front of him. Nobody else plays those kind of games (nobody but the raccoons) If these birds were 50 peound

[@AnimalFactFiles]

They sound rough and tumble. That would be fun to watch!

[@MF99K]

I wasn't expecting a clip from one of my videos in this, haha. A very good summary of the jays. We recently released three siblings after being raised by humans and they are doing really well in the wild so far

[@grannygamerquilter]

Thanks so much for this information! We have Western scrub jays and blue jays in Colorado living in and around our scrub oaks. Love these birds! Beautiful video - pictures are so clear and beautiful.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

So glad you enjoyed it! 😸

[@christina9841]

I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have what look to be the Florida scrubjays... I absolutely adore them. So cute and funny and smart.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Aww! Birds are so awesome!!

[@scribejay]

Those would be the, Woodhouses scrub jays?

[@whatifdogwasoneofus]

I love these. Been seeing them around the PNW too. They're so playful. I assumed they were Cali Scrubs, but you think they're Florida Scrubs?

[@ronsmith1777]

@@whatifdogwasoneofus They are (Technically) the Western Scrub Jays mentioned, but you are correct, they are popularly called Cali Scrubs. :-)

[@JenniferLupine]

Cool family of birds! Nice to learn about the cooperative varieties! Thanks!!

[@happy-0atmeal]

I'm very fortunate that a family of scrub jays have chosen to move in as neighbors, I got a huge scrub in the drive way and plenty of small fruits in the backyard. Unfortunately, I also have a full list of their predators as frequent guests to my house, from rodents all the way to vicious hawks. I've seen a young hawk having lunch in my backyard and the meal is a pigeon that's bigger than the hawk! To be fair, the hawk is the more endangered bird here, but I really hope the jays can avoid being on their menu.

[@blubushie]

I currently have a scrub jay fledgling that's been added to my family of non-releaseable rehabs. This guy was caught by a cat-not once, but TWICE. The first time he escaped but was bitten on the wrist of his left wing and infected with Pasteurella. The second time he wasn't able to escape and the cat brought him indoors. Their owner immediately brought him to me, as I'm known in my area for rehabbing and have multiple other rehabs including two more non-releasables-an opossum with seizures and a kingsnake that lost its sight from an infection. (Technically the kingsnake could survive in the wild as they can hunt by scent, however kingsnakes typically use their eyes just as much as their noses for targeting and it was decided that he would have an unfair disadvantage in the wild, especially versus predators.) It's estimated the jay went about three or four days before he turned septic due to the necrosis caused by the bacterial infection, and the sepsis caused weakness which is how he was caught by the second cat. He had to have emergency surgery to remove the first knuckle of his left wing due to how bad the necrosis was (the bone was already visible and was also infected so there was no saving it) and he isn't expected to ever be able to fly any more than a short glide. He's currently on Baytril twice daily as he had a bad reaction to the Amoxicillin and he's doing just fine now. His wing is dressed every morning and night and being able to interact with him one-on-one is a nice change of pace. Typically the only times the birds see us is during feeding and even then we keep contact to a minimum because it's safest if they're generally distrusting of humans once released (it also keeps them from becoming dependent on humans). It's one thing to admire these birds in the garden but actually interacting with one as it grows and getting to see their intelligence firsthand is amazing. The only downside is the screeches. I'm strange in that I love the harsh calls of the adults but a hungry baby screaming to be fed in the morning is like nails on a chalkboard!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

What a lucky baby to have found such a loving, caring person like you!

[@Col28]

2:12 Short-lived, huh? That's sad for such a beautiful bird. (Then again, I find most birds to be beautiful.) I found it very interesting that they are cooperative. All children should help with their younger siblings, don't you think?

[@AnimalFactFiles]

They should! Everybody should help everybody, really. =)

[@guillermoviera6970]

I love scrub jays. Since I was a child. I have at least 4 living on my property. I feed them everyday. I love watching them. They are a very beautiful 🐦. I have hummingbirds, doves, mockingbirds, white crowned sparrows. Occasionally a falcon and some red tail hawks. I also have owls living inside my palm tree. I live out in the country of Bakersfield Ca.

[@turdferguson1603]

They are in my backyard everyday. I turn on the sprinklers and they jump through the water.

[@TheWorldOfThoseWhoDoNotSpeak]

Very beautiful and informative video! Thank you for sharing. I love watching the Scrub-Jays at our feeders and birdbath. Surprisingly, they will eat not only peanuts and suet, but also the jelly that we are putting out for the Orioles.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Oh they must be so fun to watch!

[@rockzzsalz7928]

I'm in Granger Washington and I have a few here, I feed them peanuts, and if they run out, since the shelf is outside my kitchen window, they will knock on my window! intelligent birds ❤

[@slvanvalkenburgh]

Love them!!!

[@ShakespeareCafe]

There’s a bachelor scrub jay who lives in a park in San Francisco He spends his day caching acorns He flies to the top of the light pole, surveys the area then makes a dash for his secret hiding spot

[@AnimalFactFiles]

This would be so fun to watch!

[@jakemilitano2453]

I always get these confused with blue Jays

[@AnimalFactFiles]

They look similar!

[@scribejay]

Scrubs jays don't have a crest and are kind of all around more rough looking, limber and scruffy but in a handsome roguish sort of way.

[@heidiwollman2340]

I have the same family getting larger and caring for each other and I'm in California. Mom is at least 5 years old now. I have them trained to come to a perch. they never screech at me and wait patiently for me to notice them. they only screech at each other. Only one time, the mom came to the edge of my open sliding glass door, spread her wings out and turned her head to the side, flattened right out and prone. I walked over and she didn't move. Like she was bowing down to me. Anyone have that happen? I got down at her height inside the house and did the same thing. We were both just lying there head to head. These birds do not eat out of my hand, but will wait for me to drop the peanut or go without. they also never enter my home.

[@mikes7446]

I have a pair of scrubs that come get peanuts from me. They are so cute and intelligent

[@plutooliver686]

I feed a pair of scrub jays unsalted peanuts from my apartment window ledge.They just fly in sit pick the one they want and fly off.It's my office so i sit maybe 5 feet away and they don't seem to be bothered by me but then again i am no harm to them, they brighten my days😍

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Aww that sounds so lovely!

[@plutooliver686]

@@AnimalFactFiles Thank you for your videos they are beautiful!

[@Zennofobic]

They're beautiful but loud and annoying and they bully the other smaller birds. I live in Southern California and I just recently noticed I haven't seen one in some months so I wanted to know if they were migratory

[@--SHEPHERD-OF-MOTHER-EARTH--]

poor birds...i love all the birdys! 🐦🐦🐦🐦

[@rachelmaxwell5936]

We have a family of Woodhouse's scrub jay living in a lilac bush on the other side of our driveway. They've been there for years. They're always raiding the compost heap, and we saw one stash something in my dad's bike helmet.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Omg that's so cool! It's amazing they've been part of your lives for so long! Love this

[@Palpo_pics]

Theres also california scrub jays, which you put as western scrub jay however the western was split into california scrub jay and woodhouses scrub jay. The difference is california scrub jays are coastal and woodhouses are more on the inside

[@CooCooSuckafoo]

I'm surprised people are commenting they love this bird. They are pretty enough, but I have one or maybe multiple coming to my house everyday driving me nuts with their sounds! Their sounds are like nails on a chalkboard to me and I want them to STFU or go away.

[@c0d3_888]

looking at these comments, im glad im not the only one who feeds the scrub jays by my house 😅

[@GovBrownsucks]

only real predator in my yard is a stray house cat, that I keep chasing out of my yard, tempted to catch it and take it to the pound. I am not a fan of house cats because they are responsible for a few bird extinctions.

[@drewt.4353]

Most people including me just called them blue jays. Seldom do I hear anyone say scrub jay.

[@Thorny_Misanthrope]

Gotta love my backyard corvid friends.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Every time I hear a jay I can't help but smile 💜

[@secoura]

YAAAAAAAAS! Though now I wonder which came first, the scrub jay or the scrub oak? Hmm...

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Lolz. Well if we go by current naming conventions, the scrub jay genus was coined in 1851. I'm pretty sure the American settlers reached the California coast before that time, and they were kind of insane about collecting plants, so my guess would be oak, though that's only accounting for modern taxonomy. I would like to guess native Americans knew these species far longer. =)

[@georginapallis5823]

I had only one question to the nice lady in Port Charlotte Florida......as I called from Wayne NJ

[@anthonyromano8565]

Western scrub jays like almonds and hemp harts.

[@mjolnirplissken7032]

do the t=Towhee please!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Great suggestion! Thank you 💜😀

[@jacksonk6293]

A perfectly B+ Bird. Good enough to represent Florida's D- state.

[@gratefulpianist8640]

Some humans should learn from these birds in many ways! Actually there are no “blue” birds, because the color is created with special nanostructures of the feathers!

[@enricocaponnetto3488]

Do a giordius aquaticus facts

[@rite2laurie]

You didn’t even mention the California Scrub Jay😞

[@michaelp.4890]

Did I hear squirrel? Does this mean that squirells intentionally kill jays for food?

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Squirrels may enter blue jay nests and eat their young. Nature can be pretty rough. 😔

[@captainbryce1]

Squirrels are predators of scrub jays?

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Specifically their eggs and chicks