A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY PREYING ON DEER MICE

Abstract

Scrub-jays of the genus Aphelocoma are known to be omnivorous and opportunistic in their feeding habits (Bent 1946). Stomach-content analyses of Florida Scrub-Jays (A. coerulescens) have shown that they feed predominantly on vegetable matter, but that they also take large quantities of insects as well as frogs and lizards (Sprunt 1946). Aphelocoma spp. are also well known for raiding nests of other birds (Bent 1946; Haemig 1988).