Island Scrub-jay

Taxobox
name = Island Scrub-Jay


image_width = 250px
status = NT
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = [IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=40319|title=Aphelocoma insularis|downloaded=11 May 2006 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened]
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Corvidae
genus = "Aphelocoma"
species = "A. insularis"
binomial = "Aphelocoma insularis"
binomial_authority = Henshaw, 1886

The Island Scrub-Jay ("Aphelocoma insularis")(ref label|etymology|A|A) or Island Jay is one of the species of "Aphelocoma" (scrub-jays) native to North America and is endemic to Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California. It is closely related to the California Scrub-jay - the coastal Western Scrub-jays found on the adjacent mainland (Rice "et al." 2003 [Rice, Nathan H.; Martínez-Meyer, Enrique & Peterson, A. Townsend (2003): Ecological niche differentiation in the "Aphelocoma" jays: a phylogenetic perspective. "Biol. J. Linn. Soc." 80(3): 369–383. DOI|10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00242.x [http://www.ansp.org/research/biodiv/ornithology/pdf/Jay-phylogeny.pdf PDF fulltext] ] ) - but differs in being larger, more brightly colored, and having a markedly stouter bill. The large bill size is related to its diet, incorporating the thick-shelled acorns of the Island Oak ("Quercus tomentella").

Santa Cruz Island is run as a preserve, partly by The Nature Conservancy and partly by Channel Islands National Park. The Island Jay can often be seen right at Prisoner's Cove, where many of the boats visiting the Island drop off and pick up passengers. This species is plentiful; it is classed as near-threatened by the IUCN mainly to reflect that a disaster, disease, or invasive species could quickly kill off the thriving population as it is limited to a single island. The Island Scrub-jay is not known to have occurred anywhere else historically, and no fossil remains have been found on the well-researched neighboring islands (Curry & Delaney 2002 [Curry, Robert L. & Delaney, Kathleen Semple (2002): Island Scrub-Jay ("Aphelocoma insularis"). "In:" Poole, A. & Gill, F. (eds.): "The Birds of North America" 713. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA & American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. Online version, retrieved 2007-FEB-25. DOI|10.2173/bna.713 (requires subscription)] ).

References

Further reading

*cite book | last=Goodwin | first=Derek | coauthors=Gillmor, Robert | title=Crows of the World 2nd ed| location=Seattle | publisher=University of Washington Press | year=1986 | isbn=0565009796

*cite book | last=Madge | first=Steve | coauthors=Burn, Hilary | title=Crows and jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of the world | location= London| publisher=A & C Black | year=1994 | isbn=0713639997

Footnotes

:note label|etymology|A|A Etymology: "Aphelocoma", from Latinized Ancient Greek "aphelo-", "soft" (Ancient Greek: apalos, απαλός) + Latin "coma" "hair", in reference to the smooth plumage of birds of this genus compared to other corvids. "insularis", Latin: "from an island".

External links

*Audubon WatchList: [http://audubon2.org/webapp/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=109 Island Scrub Jay] . Retrieved 2007-FEB-26.