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Description

This is one of the three species of Western Scrub Jays that inhabit parts of the Western US. They all look similar but are divided into three species because of the geographical barriers that separate them. I became interested in them when I learned about their high intelligence, a trait they share with other corvids. They are able to remember the locations of over a hundred food caches, what they stored there, how long ago they stored it, and who else was there. In addition, if they knew someone was watching when they stored their food, they will re cache that food at a later time to prevent theft. This in addition to other behaviors lays the foundation for the kind of future planning and mental time travel we see in humans, but it needs to be studied more.
I’m a fan of crows in general, but this one is blue.

Description

This is one of the three species of Western Scrub Jays that inhabit parts of the Western US. They all look similar but are divided into three species because of the geographical barriers that separate them. I became interested in them when I learned about their high intelligence, a trait they share with other corvids. They are able to remember the locations of over a hundred food caches, what they stored there, how long ago they stored it, and who else was there. In addition, if they knew someone was watching when they stored their food, they will re cache that food at a later time to prevent theft. This in addition to other behaviors lays the foundation for the kind of future planning and mental time travel we see in humans, but it needs to be studied more.
I’m a fan of crows in general, but this one is blue.