BLUE BIRDS SEEN IN NORTH AMERICA

California Scrub-Jay 

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Aphelocoma Californica 

Adults have long tails and stout bills. They have blue head, wings and tail, and a gray-brown back, grayish underparts and white eyebrows. Their throat is whitish with a blue necklace.

Juveniles are gray above with blue tail and bits of blue coming in on the wings.

BILL: black, thick and hooked.

SIZE: medium-sized, measuring approximately 11 - 12 inches in length (including tail) with a wingspan of 15 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs about 80 grams.

COLOR: blue, gray, gray-brown, white and black.

Insects and fruit during spring and summer. Nuts and seeds during fall and winter, especially acorns.

A variety of shrubby and brushy habitats. They typically live near oak woodlands and scrubby chaparral, as well as brushy suburban habitats.

California Coast Ranges from San Mateo County and Southeast Alameda County to Southwest Ventura County.

CALL: A "screech" is described as "harsh and scratchy".

NEST: Both the male and female help build a cup-shaped nest of sticks, plant material, and moss, usually relatively low in a tree or shrub.

EGGS: 1 - 5 pale green eggs blotched with olive or pale gray spotted with brown.

INCUBATION: 17 - 19 days, female fed by the male.

NESTLING PHASE: 17 - 19 days.

They are assertive, vocal, and inquisitive. They are often silhouetted high in trees, on wires, or on posts where they act as lookouts.

Their flight seems underpowered and slow, with bouts of fluttering alternating with glides.

The oldest known California Scrub-Jay lived to be at least 15 years, 9 months old.

SOURCES: https://www.birds-of-north-america.net

                   https://en.wikipedia.org

                   https://www.allaboutbirds.org

                   https://www.sdakotabirds.com