California Scrub-Jay
Aphelocoma californica
California Scrub-Jay · Torrey Pines State Reserve · 7 March 2026
A California Scrub-Jay in the chaparral at Torrey Pines, a bird of the oak and scrub country of the Pacific coast and nowhere else. It is the jay of Californian gardens, bold enough to take peanuts from a hand, and it stays all year.
No crest, unlike the Blue Jay familiar in the East; scrub-jays keep a smooth head and a longer tail instead. Like other jays it caches food, burying acorns by the thousand each autumn and relying on memory rather than smell to recover them months later, which makes it an effective if accidental tree-planter across its range.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
Every photograph comes with notes on what it is.
Selected
Favourite shots. Filter by subject, or .
Places
Everything, by where it was taken.
Species
Larger catalogue of photos organized by species of animal or plant.
Catalogue
Every photograph, newest first. Narrow it by period, place or species; the three work together.
Updates
Coming soon. Sign up at the bottom of the page for updates.