Page 642 - Hand rearing birds second

Corvids 643

Jay species vary significantly from one another. A caregiver must correctly identify the jay
species in order to supply the proper diet, accurate care prior to release, and proper release site.
The natural history of the Gray Jay (Perisoreus Canadensis) is an excellent example of the spe -
cial needs of some species. Gray Jays do best in areas of coniferous trees, especially black
spruce. In the United States, these birds breed mostly in northern and mountain coniferous
forests.
Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are found in the central and eastern areas of the United States.
They are omnivores with a fondness for acorns. These crested members of the jay family are capa-
ble of hybridizing with the Steller’s Jay. Steller’s Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) also have a crest and are
found in the western part of the United States with preferred habitat being evergreen forests. This
omnivorous species is also well known for stealing food from picnic tables, sorting through gar-
bage, and frequenting feeders. The Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) can be found in southern Texas.
They can be found in mainly sedentary small flocks heavily dependent on an insect diet. Brown
Jays (Cyanocorax morio) are also found in southern Texas, frequently visit feeding stations, and
travel in flocks of 5 to 10 birds. The California Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) can be found in
California, Oregon, and southwest Washington. The Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma wood-
houseii) is found in Nevada east to Texas. Florida Scrub Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) may live
their entire lives within ½ mile of their hatch site and are found only in Florida. The Island Scrub
Jay (Aphelocoma insularis) is found only on Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands south of
Santa Barbara, California. The Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) is dependent on the seeds
of the Pinyon Pine. The Mexican Jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina) are common residents of pine
and oak canyons of southwestern mountains.
Clark’s Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) are found in the west. The birds’ pointed bill is
adapted to opening cones and extracting seeds. Most of their eggs are laid by March or early April,
enabled by their ability to store thousands of pine cone seeds.
Individuals must become familiar with the natural history of each species of corvid they hand-
rear to prevent unintentional injury, taming, or imprinting of the bird being raised. Release criteria
must be based on the needs of each species, especially the natural habitat and the expected interac-
tion with wild conspecifics.
The natural diet of corvids consists of insects and other invertebrates, grains, seeds, especially
those gathered from cones, fruits including berries, vegetables, nuts including acorns, small mam-
mals, carrion, eggs and young birds, frogs, lizards, salamanders, worms, garbage, and just about
any other natural food source found in the wild.
When raising corvids in captivity, particular problems appear that are related to the natural his-
tory of these birds. Crows and ravens are unusually large songbirds. Their size may cause caregiv-
ers to not recognize they are still a juvenile and might not be self-feeding or might still be a
nestling requiring a nest rather than a perch. Due to the social nature of the various corvid spe-
cies, fledglings usually leave the nest well before becoming self-feeding, with the adults giving
weeks or months of supportive care and training. The caregiver for a juvenile corvid must supply
more training than would be expected with other songbirds. Corvids are sensitive to changes in
spatial relationships, an important component to a caching bird with a highly developed hip-
pocampus portion of the brain. When in captivity, changes in housing may greatly affect corvids,
which at times may cause them to stop eating. Corvid family nestlings appear more susceptible to
overheating and dehydration than many other bird species, at times quickly becoming dehydrated
after initial hydration even when housed in an incubator. Dehydration may cause the birds to
become unresponsive to the stimuli that usually cause them to gape. If they are forcefully given
food at this point, they lack the ability to successfully swallow or digest it. The bird may rapidly