Island Scrub-Jay

Basic Description

Island Scrub-Jay is one of North America’s rarest birds, with just a few thousand of these jumbo-sized jays existing in one place on Earth: California’s Santa Cruz Island. Exquisitely patterned with deep blue above, pale gray below, and a bandit’s mask through the eye, Island Scrub-Jays are common in the scrubby chaparral and oak woodlands that cover parts of the island. Pairs typically mate for life and defend year-round territories, where they gather and cache acorns, catch insects, and occasionally take small vertebrates.