Aphelocoma
Sign in to saveAlso known as Scrub Jays, scrub jay, scrub-jay
The passerine birds of the genus Aphelocoma include the scrub jays and their relatives. They are New World jays found in Mexico, western Central America and the western United States, with an outlying population in Florida. This genus belongs to the group of New World (or "blue") jays—possibly a distinct subfamily–which is not closely related to other jays, magpies or treepies. Within this group, according to a 2023 molecular analysis, Aphelocoma is the sister group to a clade consisting of Cyanocitta and Gymnorhinus. They live in open pine-oak forests, chaparral, and mixed evergreen forests.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyCorvidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 18
- Family
- Corvidae
- Collections
- CUMV, UMZM, UCMP, SDNHM, CMNH, USNM
- Recorded in
- Mexico, United States, Not Specified
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Systematics
- Description
- Behavior
- Explanatory notes
- References
- External links
The passerine birds of the genus Aphelocoma include the scrub jays and their relatives. They are New World jays found in Mexico, western Central America and the western United States, with an outlying population in Florida. This genus belongs to the group of New World (or "blue") jays—possibly a distinct subfamily–which is not closely related to other jays, magpies or treepies. Within this group, according to a 2023 molecular analysis, Aphelocoma is the sister group to a clade consisting of Cyanocitta and Gymnorhinus. They live in open pine-oak forests, chaparral, and mixed evergreen forests.
==Systematics== thumb|right|Florida scrub jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Aphelocoma” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.