Bird of the Week: Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay

By Abby West
Featured Photo by Chris Wood

Woodhouse’s scrub-jays are an odd bunch, described as the Blue jay of dry lowlands from Nevada south to Mexico. They’re most often seen in Central Texas as a blue-grey streak disappearing into the brush. They’re said to be residents here, breeding and nesting in the oak-juniper woodlands along the Edwards Plateau, in the pinyon pines across the Trans-Pecos and sometimes in the Panhandle, but according to the Texas Breeding Bird Atlas, we can’t say they’re not migratory as well. Some sporadic seasonal movement outside of their typical breeding range has been anecdotally reported, although these scientists suspect maybe they’re just ‘nonbreeding wanderers’ (a phrase I believe we should adopt for the nomadically inclined among our species).

Not all scrub-jays are so wary of human interaction. California scrub-jays that live in coastal regions in California, Oregon and Washington are notably more sociable and conspicuous. Our interior population of scrub jays can be quite difficult to spot despite their larger size, blue coloring and tendency to forage on the ground. Also, the California scrub jays’ coloring is much more saturated and well-defined than those found more inland, which are described as dusty and muted. In fact, the two populations are so well-differentiated that they rarely interact, as their ranges hardly overlap at all. The California scrub jay has evolved a stouter beak to break open hard acorns, while Woodhouse’s beaks tend to be slimmer to excavate pine nuts hidden in between pinecone scales. Scientists caught on to these differences and in 2016, split the species Western scrub-jay into two distinct species with their two respective names: Woodhouse’s (interior) and California (coastal). RIP Western scrub-jay.

Despite their inconspicuous nature, Woodhouse’s scrub-jay have developed a symbiotic relationship with mule deer and have often been seen riding on their backs. Maybe they’re just freeloaders, but scientists say they’re picking off and eating ticks and other parasites. Their other favorite foods include pine seeds (as mentioned) and juniper berries. Yum! And like all jays, they are extremely clever and innovative. They famously have the same brain to body ratio as chimpanzees. Despite all of this, the populations that rely on their pinyon pine habitat have been declining for some time now, due to loss of habitat. These pressures coming from the North and West may be slowly pushing them to adapt and shift their ranges more Southeast, causing them to occupy more and more habitat along the Edwards plateau, which means we could be seeing more of these elusive jays in the years to come.

Sources:

Blue Bombers, TPWD Magazine
Western Scrub Jay, Texas Breeding Bird Atlas
Friends of High Places, Defenders of Wildlife blog
Woodhouse scrub-jay, Cornell University: All About Birds