Florida bush jay

Florida bush jay
	Florida bush jay ( Aphelocoma coerulescens )
Systematics
Order :	Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination :	Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily :	Corvoidea
Family :	Corvids (Corvidae)
Genre :	Bush jay ( Aphelocoma )
Type :	Florida bush jay
Scientific name
	Aphelocoma coerulescens
	( Bosc , 1795)

Distribution area of the bush jay in Florida, USA

The Florida Scrub Jay ( Aphelocoma coerulescens ) is a Singvogelart from the family of corvids , which only in Florida occurs.

features

The Florida bush jay is 28 centimeters long. The back of the head, the mantle, the tops of the wings and the tail are bright blue. The back, the underside and the forehead are gray. There is a dark band below the goiter . The ear covers and the undersides of the wings and tail are dark, as are the iris , beak and legs.

Habitat and Distribution

The occurrence of the Florida bush jay is limited to the areas of Florida that are covered with bushes. Its preferred habitat is mostly in a transitional state: bushes formed after fires, which for the most part consist of oaks about three meters tall and interspersed with small clearings.

Hazard and protection

The population of the species has declined by about 90 percent in the 20th century due to the destruction of its habitat. It was listed as an Endangered Species by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 1975 and by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in 1987. The populations of the west coast of Florida are closely monitored and examined. For this purpose, the animals are ringed in color so that the individuals can be identified with binoculars. The habitat is protected or restored.

Florida bush jay ( Aphelocoma coerulescens ) with colored rings

Systematics

The elevation to the rank of a species took place in 1995. This decision was confirmed by bone finds from the late Pleistocene as well as molecular genetic and ecological findings.

swell

Individual evidence

↑ American Ornithologist's Union (1995): Fortieth supplement to the American Ornithologist's Union check-list of North American birds. Auk 112 (8): pp. 19-830
↑ Emslie, SD (1996): A fossil Scrub-Jay supports a recent systematic decision. Condor 98 (4): pp. 675-680 PDF
↑ Rice, Nathan H .; Martínez-Meyer, Enrique & Peterson, A. Townsend (2003): Ecological niche differentiation in the Aphelocoma jays: a phylogenetic perspective. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 80 (3): pp. 369–383 PDF ( Memento from July 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

literature

National Geographic Society: Field Guide to the birds of North America. 4th fully rev. and updated Ed., 2002, ISBN 0-7922-6877-6

Web links

Commons : Florida jay ( Aphelocoma coerulescens ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Aphelocoma coerulescens in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 23 of 2008.
Calls from the Florida bush jay (MP3; 5 kB)

[1] American Ornithologist's Union (1995): Fortieth supplement to the American Ornithologist's Union check-list of North American birds. Auk 112 (8): pp. 19-830

[2] Emslie, SD (1996): A fossil Scrub-Jay supports a recent systematic decision. Condor 98 (4): pp. 675-680 PDF

[3] Rice, Nathan H .; Martínez-Meyer, Enrique & Peterson, A. Townsend (2003): Ecological niche differentiation in the Aphelocoma jays: a phylogenetic perspective. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 80 (3): pp. 369–383 PDF ( Memento from July 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive )