Aphelocoma coerulescens, Scrub Jay



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Status: A common jay throughout the state occurring usually in shrubby vegetation or pinyon-juniper forests along the foothills.

Records: This widespread and common jay was reported by all the early-day naturalists who worked in Utah. Ridgway recorded it from the Wasatch Mountains in 1869. Merriam reported it from near Ogden, Weber County, Utah, in 1872. Henshaw referred to this species from several locations in Utah in 1872, and Fisher recorded it from the Beaver Dam Mountains of Washington County in 1891. More recent references in the literature are abundant.

Subspecies: While there appears to be considerable intergradation between them, two rather distinct subspecies of Scrub Jay have been recognized in the Utah population. A race described by Pitelka, kknown as A. c. nevadae, occupies western Utah, especially the Great Basin, while A. c. woodhouseii occurs in the eastern part of the state in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Hayward, C., Cottam, C., Woodbury, A., Frost, A. Birds of Utah, Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs, Number 1, Page 189 Brigham Young University, 1976.