California scrub jay
Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839)
The california scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) is a species in the family Corvidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 75 g to 85.7 g and live up to 15.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the california scrub jay
- Weight
- 75 g – 85.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 15.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 16.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 17.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 17.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the california scrub jay live?
Not recorded
What is the california scrub jay?
The California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) is a species of scrub jay native to western North America. It ranges from southern British Columbia throughout California and western Nevada near Reno to west of the Sierra Nevada. The California scrub jay was once lumped with Woodhouse's scrub jay and collectively called the western scrub jay. IUCN and the Handbook of the Birds of the World maintain this lumped taxon. The group was also lumped with the island scrub jay and the Florida scrub jay; the taxon was then called simply scrub jay. The California scrub jay is nonmigratory and can be found in urban areas, where it can become tame and will come to bird feeders. While many refer to scrub jays as "blue jays", the blue jay is a different species of bird entirely.
From the Wikipedia article “California scrub jay” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=California_scrub_jay&oldid=1383061385), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the california scrub jay sound like?
Is the california scrub jay endangered?
The california scrub jay is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the california scrub jay classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae
- genusAphelocoma
- SpeciesAphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839)
Synonyms Garrulus californicus
Other names and names in other languages (45)
- California jayEnglish
- California scrub-jayEnglish
- Coastal western scrub-jayEnglish
- Western scrub-jayEnglish
- قيق كاليفورنيArabic
- gaig de bardissa de CalifòrniaCatalan
- sojka západníCzech
- KratskadeDanish
- KalifornienhäherGerman
- Westlicher BuschhäherGerman
- kalifornia garoloEsperanto
- Okcidenta makisgaroloEsperanto
- Chara californianaSpanish
- võsa-sininäärEstonian
- kalifornianpensasnärhiFinnish
- Geai buissonnierFrench
- Geai-bleu buissonnierFrench
- sivoleđa šojkaCroatian
- bozótszajkóHungarian
- Ghiandaia occidentaleItalian
- カリフォルニアカケスJapanese
- アメリカカケスJapanese
- kaliforninis krūmyninis kėkštasLithuanian
- krūmu sīlisLatvian
- TsʼánídílzhiʼíNavajo
- Ahééháshį́į́hdę́ę́ʼ tsʼánídílzhiʼíNavajo
- Westelijke StruikgaaiDutch
- krattskrikeNorwegian
- modrowronka kalifornijskaPolish
- gaio-de-woodhousePortuguese
- gaio-da-califórniaPortuguese
- gaio-das-pradariasPortuguese
- Gaio-dos-matos-ocidentalPortuguese
- Калифорнийская сойкаRussian
- Западная кустарниковая сойкаRussian
- Калифорнийская кустарниковая сойкаRussian
- kapuciarka dubováSlovak
- Kalifornijska žbunjarska krejaSerbian
- västlig snårskrikaSwedish
- Kaliforniya Çalı KargasıTurkish
- сойка каліфорнійськаUkrainian
- Giẻ cùi bụi miền tâyVietnamese
- 西丛鸦Chinese
- 西叢鴉Chinese
- 西方灌叢鴉Chinese
Relatives of the california scrub jay
Other species in the same genus Aphelocoma.
Florida scrub jay
Aphelocoma coerulescens
Unicolored jay
Aphelocoma unicolor
Transvolcanic jay
Aphelocoma ultramarina
Island jay
Aphelocoma insularis
Mexican jay
Aphelocoma wollweberi
Woodhouse's jay
Aphelocoma woodhouseii
CompareCalifornia scrub jay vs Florida scrub jayCalifornia scrub jay vs Unicolored jayCalifornia scrub jay vs Transvolcanic jayCalifornia scrub jay vs Island jay
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the california scrub jay?
An adult california scrub jay weighs 75 g – 85.7 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the california scrub jay endangered?
The california scrub jay is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the california scrub jay live?
The california scrub jay has a recorded lifespan of 15.8 years.
What kind of animal is the california scrub jay?
The california scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) belongs to the family Corvidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/california-scrub-jay
“California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/california-scrub-jay.
@misc{california_scrub_jay_2026,
title = {California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/california-scrub-jay},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}