Island Scrub Jay

The island scrub jay (Aphelocoma insularis), also known as the island jay or Santa Cruz jay, is a bird in the genus Aphelocoma, which is endemic to Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California. Of the over 500 breeding bird species in the continental U.S. and Canada, it is the only insular endemic landbird species, meaning it is restricted to a geographical island. == Description == The island scrub jay is closely related to the California scrub jay (the coastal population found on the adjacent mainland), but differs in being larger, more brightly colored, and having a markedly stouter bill. They will bury, or cache, the acorns in the fall and may eat them months later. They also eat insects, spiders, snakes, lizards, mice and other birds' eggs and nestlings. == Taxonomy == The island scrub jay was first described by American ornithologist Henry Wetherbee Henshaw in 1886 and an archaeological specimen at site SCRI-192 dating from the 1780s-1812 on Santa Cruz Island is the earliest evidence of the bird in the historic period. This bird is a member of the crow family, and is one of a group of closely related North American species named as scrub…