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The California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) is a bird found in United States. Oak woods, gardens and scrub in western North America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, small mammals and birds and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the California scrub jay lives

Oak woods, gardens and scrub in western North America.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs20%
• 🐭 Mammals & birds20%
• 🍎 Fruit20%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts20%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
• 🦴 Leftovers (carrion)10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the California scrub jay

Recorded by Bobby Wilcox (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC736330. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the California scrub jay

Where does the California scrub jay live?

The California scrub jay lives in United States. Oak woods, gardens and scrub in western North America.

What does the California scrub jay eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), small mammals and birds (about 20%), fruit (about 20%), seeds and nuts (about 20%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), dead animals (carrion) (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the California scrub jay endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

• Harris's hawk
• Western meadowlark
• White-necked jacobin
• American white ibis
• Cliff swallow
• American tree sparrow

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.