The Pinyon Jay

Behavioral Ecology of a Colonial and Cooperative Corvid

John M. Marzluff, Russel P. Balda

• Publisher: T & AD Poyser
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781408136935
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781408136928
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Zoology
• Index: Biological Sciences

A flock of Pinyon Jays arrive in a flash of blue, and leave again just as suddenly.

This once mysterious bird is now the subject of over 20 years of intensive research involving over one thousand colour-marked jays by Russell Balda, John Marzluff and their colleagues and helpers. This plain blue bird has turned out to be anything but plain in its biology and behaviour.

Uniquely dependent on the seeds of the Pinyon Pine for food, they have developed a number of behavioural and morphological adaptations to best utilise this resource, above all caching enough seeds each autumn to supply their needs throughout the winter and fuel their unusual habit of nesting in late winter.

Fluctuations in pine-seed supply, both by season and between years, poses special problems for these birds and has led to their extremely flexible and complex social system in which learning and memory play an unusually large part. They store pine seeds and retrieve them with uncanny accuracy; they form lifelong pair bonds and nest colonially, occasionally involving younger birds to help established pairs rear the young; and they use their large vocabulary to coordinate activities within one of the largest known avian societies.

This intriguing story will fascinate both the enthusiastic amateur birder and the professional alike. Packed with information, it presents Pinyon Jay biology in a readable form and places them into the wider context of studies on bird ecology and evolution.

Fine illustrations by Tony Angell, with additional pictures by Caroline Bauder, complete this attractive addition to any birder's bookshelf.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of photographs
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Preface
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 01 - A bird addicted to seeds
• CHAPTER 02 - Birds of what feather?
• CHAPTER 03 - A co-evolutionary tale
• CHAPTER 04 - Vocal communication
• CHAPTER 05 - Flock composition
• CHAPTER 06 - Dominance relationships within the flock
• CHAPTER 07 - The dating game
• CHAPTER 08 - When and where to nest
• CHAPTER 09 - Parental jays
• CHAPTER 10 - Lifetime reproductive success
• CHAPTER 11 - Travels and tribulations of young jays
• CHAPTER 12 - A matter of life and death
• CHAPTER 13 - Conclusions: sociality in a variable environment
• Appendix 1: Number and spacing of nests with eggs within colonies of the Town Flock
• Appendix 2: Average productivity of Pinyon Jays in the Town Flock
• Appendix 3: Annual variation in the survival of Pinyon Jays in the Town Flock
• Appendix 4: Key-factor analysis of mortality in the Town Flock
• Appendix 5: Family trees of Pinyon Jays
• Appendix 6: Common and latin names of species mentioned in the text
• Bibliography