LiteratureReviewofAphelocomacalifornica

Aphelocomacalifornicaiscommonlyknownasthewesternscrubjay.ThisAvianspecies
canbefoundinwesternNorthAmerica.Theycanbeseenasfarnorthasnorthern
OregonandasfarsouthassouthernMexico.Theirgeographicalrangeisfromcentral
TexastothePacificcoastoftheUnitedStates.TheWesternscrubjayusuallyonly
migratessmalldistancestolowlandareasduringwintermonths.(Curry2002).Their
territorysizerangesfrom6,600squaremetersto65,000squaremeters(Sibley2003).
Theypreferlowerelevationswiththickgrass,brush,andshrubs.Knownpredators
includeraccoons,longtailedweasels,western,spottedskunks,stripedskunks,western
graysquirrels,foxsquirrels,easternkingsnakes,pinkesnaked,westernrattlesnakes,
blackbilledmagpies,Americancrows,bobcats,Coopershawks,sharpshinnedhawks,
goldeneagles,redtailedhawks,andprairiefalcons(Clayton2002).Westernscrubjays
preferfruit,nuts,andvegetables,buttheyalsoeatsmalllandbirds,eggs,California
slendersalamanders,westernfencelizards,andarthropods.Therefor,thewesternscrub
jayisanomniovore.Thetimeofyearwhenscrubjayseatmostlyanimalmatterisduring
themonthofApril.Thewesternscrubjayhasthreeknownectoparasitespecies,allof
whicharelice:Philopterascassipes,Brueeliadeficienc,andMyrsideaspecies.They
maintainamutualisticrelationshipwithOdocoileushemionuscolumbianusorbetter
commonlyknownastheColumbianblacktaileddeerbyeatingticksandfliesoffofthe
deer(IsenhartandDesante1985).Theycanactasanamplifyinghostforthetransmission
ofWestNilevirustohumansbymosquitoes(Ladeau,Marra,andCalder2008).

References
Clayton,D.2002.InfluenceofBillShapeonEctoparasiteLoadinWesterScrubjays.
TheCondor.104:675678.
Curry,R.2002.WesternScrubjay:Aphelocomacalifornica.Phiadelphia,Pa.:Birdsof
NorthAmerica.
Isenhart,F.andD.Desante.1985.ObservationsofScrubJaysCleaningEctoparasites
fromBlacktailedDeer.TheCondor.87:145147.
Ladeau,S.,P.Marra,K.A,andC.Calder.2008.WestNileVirusRevisted:
ConsequencesforNorthAmericanEcology.Bioscience.58/10:937946.
Sibley,D.2003.TheSibleyFieldGuidetoBirds.NewYork,UnitedStates:AlfredA.
Knopf,Inc.