California scrub jay | Photo: Ingrid Taylar, some rights reserved
California is home to two new bird species - and youve seen at least one of them hundreds of times. Ornithologists have determined that two widespread populations of the familiar Western scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica), one of the states most common birds, are different enough from each other to merit splitting the species in two.
Scrub jays along the Pacific coast will now be called California scrub jays, which will keep the Westerns scientific name, while the paler, smaller-billed jays in the far eastern reaches of the state are now officially referred to as Woodhouses scrub jay, or Aphelocoma woodhouseii.
The split was made as official - or at least as official as such things ever get - when the new species was added to the 2016 edition of the American Ornithologists Unions Checklist of North American Birds. The Checklist, which is updated every year, is regarded by both scientists and recreational birders as the authority on North American bird taxonomy, and its annual revision is anticipated avidly by birders.
But the split of the Western scrub jay into two species is no surprise: the Woodhouses scrub jay has long been considered quite distinct from its coastal cousins, and scientists have talked about calling the Woodhouses scrub jay a distinct species from coastal jays since at least the 1940s. And its unlikely that this years split will be the last scientific rearrangement for the scrub jay.
--
--
If you dont remember actually having seen a scrub jay of either species, youve almost certainly heard one. These raucous, engaging members of the crow family are anything but retiring. Heres a California scrub jay making its presence known in Santa Barbara:
Its not hard to tell scrub jays from their cousins the Stellers jay, which are the only other blue jays native to California: Stellers jays, known to science as Cyanocitta stelleri, have black heads with pronounced crests. Scrub jays of whichever species lack crests, and their heads are mainly blue up top, with a dark eye patch that can look either black or dark blue depending on the light.
The differences in appearance between California scrub jays and Woodhouses scrub jays are a little more subtle: Woodhouses are a paler blue overall, and are less likely to have a distinctive blue breast stripe - a necklace - than their coastal relatives. One of the more interesting differences between the two species seems to have evolved as a result of the birds different geographical ranges: coastal California scrub jays oak woodland habitat offers a steady crop of nutritious acorns, and the birds have evolved heavy, hooked bills that make short work of acorns tough shells. Woodhouses scrub jays live in the more arid interior, where pi on pines and junipers offer the most reliable source of food. Woodhouses have narrower bills, which presumably evolved due to the birds need to extract pine nuts from their cones.
Woodhouses scrub jay | Photo: Alan Schmierer, some rights reserved
That difference in geographic range is actually the easiest way to distinguish between the species. California scrub jays range from the environs of Seattle along the coast to northern Baja, with an outlier population in southern Baja. In California, they occupy the western half of the state, from the coast well uphill into the west side of the Sierra Nevada - the birds are common camp robbers in Yosemite National Park.
Woodhouses scrub jays are relatively uncommon in California: their population stronghold is in the semiarid mountain forests of the Colorado Plateau, with other big populations in the Texas hill country and mainland Mexico. Woodhouses scrub jays do range into Californias eastern edge on a regular basis; there just arent a lot of them here at a time. The consummate birder Kenn Kaufman has mapped the ranges of the two new species in his article on the split on Audubons website, and really the easiest way to tell whether the scrub jay in front of you is a California or a Woodhouses is to look at the map and see whether youre in Woodhouse or California territory. Unless youre in the stretch of desert between Reno and Carson City, Nevada, the map is pretty much a slam dunk.
Kaufman points out that the abundance of each new species in parts of the west is a boon to those birders compiling life lists, an acquisitive hobby whose practitioners can make Pok mon Go players look like pikers:
Birders who have traveled widely in the West have probably seen both of these already, and will net an automatic armchair lifer from the decision. If you've already seen them, you can go ahead and count them
This isnt the first time ornithologists have split off new scrub jay species. Field guides once listed both the Florida scrub jay and the Santa Cruz Island scrub jay as members of the California scrub jay species. Both were declared to be separate species in 1998. And this current split between California and Woodhouses scrub jays may not be the last: some experts have suggested that some scrub jays from southern Mexico may merit being declared a new species as well.
Theres other news of interest to California birders in the 2016 Checklist: the Leachs storm-petrel, a small, dark seabird with a wide distribution in the Northern Atlantic and Pacific, has had two new species split from it: the Townsends and Ainleys storm-petrels. Both new species nest on remote islands off the Pacific coast of Baja California, making it possible that Southern California birders might see them. But distinguishing the new species from the much more common Leachs storm-petrel and from each other is extremely difficult, so its likely that this new split will vex birders.
And a name change of a one of Californias most prominent birds wont make much difference to birders, but will probably delight classicists.
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
06/05/2024
By Ilyse McKimmie
Now, more than ever
That's a phrase so often used in the last few years that I've come to dread seeing it in notes like this one. A...
06/05/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12099 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Blog-Exabyte-Storage-Demand-960x540-1.jpg/> Demand for storage solutions has reached unprece...
06/05/2024
Around the world, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) artists continue to impact mu...
06/05/2024
Spotify is making it easier for booklovers to count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until a new audiobook releases. With Countdown Pages for audioboo...
06/05/2024
Get Ready to join Dan Hong as he hits the streets in his ultimate culinary journ...
06/05/2024
In this video, cinematographer Simon Rowling welcomes viewers behind the scenes as he lights a daytime-interior scene inside a coffee shop. Shooting on Panavisi...
06/05/2024
L3Harris is well positioned to support the complex and multifaceted nature of special operations forces in all domains through our agile and responsive technolo...
06/05/2024
OAKVILLE, Ontario As part of Emergency Preparedness Week, Alert Ready, Canadas national public alerting system, will be distributing a test alert to Canadians i...
06/05/2024
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. Horowitz Research has released a new study on the viewing and media habits of U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences that shows a dramatic decline in...
06/05/2024
RE:Vision Effects Autograph 2024.4 released! 50% Off Through May 9th
Brie Clayton May 6, 2024
0 Comments
New game-changing motion graphics & VFX featu...
06/05/2024
NBC has renewed Night Court for a third season. The courtroom comedy was on the network from 1984 to 1992, and NBC rebooted it in early 2023....
06/05/2024
ABC has revealed its summer schedule. The Bachelorette gets going Monday, July 8, with Jenn Tran the star in season 21. Celebrity Family Feud starts up Tuesday,...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Kobus busts Pretty in a compromising positionDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Saam on SA...
06/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Bra Zakes and Sphamandla agree to leave Tembisa and n...
06/05/2024
RT has announced details of its coverage across digital, TV and Radio in the ru...
06/05/2024
For years, radio stations have used on-premises servers to broadcast content and manage automation, traffic, and billing systems. As technology continues to adv...
06/05/2024
06 May 2024
AI and Big Data Take the Centre Stage in Central Asia at Beetech 20...
06/05/2024
FIRST LOOK AT JIM PARSONS & MAYIM BIALIK REPRISING THEIR ROLES FROM THE BIG BAN...
06/05/2024
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be...
06/05/2024
Beverly Hills Aerials, LIV Golf Make Australian-Broadcast History by Flying Live...
06/05/2024
Back to All News
Watch the Trailer for A Part of You - Felicia Maxime, Edvin Ry...
06/05/2024
Leadership in 12G-SDI for low impact migration to 4k production...
06/05/2024
Press release - 6 May 2024 07:31
STATEMENT CONCERNING EUTELSAT GROUP'S GROUND NETWORK Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Download as PDF
Paris, 06 May 2024 ...
06/05/2024
Tyngsboro, Mass. - May 6, 2024 - Join us at InfoComm 2024 to experience the latest advancements in live production technology. From June 12-14, 2024, at the Las...
06/05/2024
To champion global movements to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ+ communities, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, ava...
06/05/2024
Actress Matseliso Mohale has joined Muvhango'Talented actress Matseliso Mohale has joined SABC2's soapie Muvhango' as Vhangani's lover and a c...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Leroy refuses to give up fighting to bury MthethoDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...
06/05/2024
Intrinsic, a software and AI robotics company at Alphabet, has integrated NVIDIA AI and Isaac platform technologies to advance the complex field of autonomous r...
06/05/2024
Cybersecurity experts at the RSA Conference this week will be on the hunt for ways to secure their operations in the era of generative AI.
They'll find man...
06/05/2024
1) What is the rationale of the transaction? What is the benefit for SES shareholders?
This combination creates a stronger and more competitive multi-orbit ope...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series Roosters, Starring Jeroen ...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Showdown Alert: Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura' Drops Electr...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
California scrub jay | Photo: Ingrid Taylar, some rights reserved 
