Re: Blue Jays

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Posted by Vincent Lucas on 10:43:33 12/30/04

In Reply to: Re: Blue Jays posted by Bill Pranty

: Hi Ellen et al.,
:
: There are two subspecies of Blue Jays that occur in Florida. One of these (cristata) is a permenent resident, but the other (bromia) is highly migratory, with flocks occasionally numbering in the hundreds of individuals.
:
: The migratory subspecies should be most common during winter, so if your Blue Jays seem to be disappearing now, then migration is not the cause.
:
: West Nile Virus (WNV) has hit corvids very hard in other areas of the U.S., but there is little evidence that WNV is having any effect in Florida -- perhaps because our birds may already be resistent to mosquito-borne viruses. To my knowledge, nobody has noticed reduced corvid numbers in Florida in the past several years, so WNV probably is also not the cause of the disappearance you have noticed.
:
:
: Best regards,
:
: Bill Pranty
: Bayonet Point, Florida (for the days)

According to the authors (Keith A. Tarvin and Glen E. Woolfenden) on the "Blue Jay" in _The Birds of North America_, Florida is not one of the states listed where C.c. bromia occurs (not even in winter). The two subspecies mentioned for Florida are C. c. cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) & C. c. semplei Todd, 1928. The former is resident along the Gulf Coast to central Florida while the latter occurs in the southern half of the state including the Florida Keys. However, Stevenson & Anderson (1994) feel that semplei should be "lumped" with nominate cristata. . . .

I've seen very few Blue Jays in my area of North Naples of late as well. . . .

Vince Lucas
Naples

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Comments:	: : Hi Ellen et al., : : : : There are two subspecies of Blue Jays that occur in Florida. One of these (cristata) is a permenent resident, but the other (bromia) is highly migratory, with flocks occasionally numbering in the hundreds of individuals. : : : : The migratory subspecies should be most common during winter, so if your Blue Jays seem to be disappearing now, then migration is not the cause. : : : : West Nile Virus (WNV) has hit corvids very hard in other areas of the U.S., but there is little evidence that WNV is having any effect in Florida -- perhaps because our birds may already be resistent to mosquito-borne viruses. To my knowledge, nobody has noticed reduced corvid numbers in Florida in the past several years, so WNV probably is also not the cause of the disappearance you have noticed. : : : : : : Best regards, : : : : Bill Pranty : : Bayonet Point, Florida (for the days) : : According to the authors (Keith A. Tarvin and Glen E. Woolfenden) on the "Blue Jay" in _The Birds of North America_, Florida is not one of the states listed where C.c. bromia occurs (not even in winter). The two subspecies mentioned for Florida are C. c. cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) & C. c. semplei Todd, 1928. The former is resident along the Gulf Coast to central Florida while the latter occurs in the southern half of the state including the Florida Keys. However, Stevenson & Anderson (1994) feel that semplei should be "lumped" with nominate cristata. . . . : : I've seen very few Blue Jays in my area of North Naples of late as well. . . . : : Vince Lucas : Naples
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