FSD 2010 - Eurasian Jays

5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

Eurasian Jays (Gallurus glandarius)

The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) (also named Geai des Chênes) is a passeriform that belongs to the family of Corvidae. It occurs over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. Across its vast range, several very distinct racial forms have evolved to look very different from each other, especially when forms at the extremes of its range are compared. A member of the widespread jay group, and about the size of the Jackdaw, it inhabits mixed woodland up to 1430 m in altitude, particularly with oaks. In recent years, the bird has begun to migrate into urban areas, possibly as a result of continued erosion of its woodland habitat. As all Corvids, Eurasian jays are omnivorous, feeding in both trees and on the ground, taking a wide range of invertebrates including many pest insects, acorns (oak seeds, which it buries for use during winter), beech mast and other seeds, fruits such as blackberries and rowan berries, young birds and eggs, mice, small reptiles and small snakes. Eurasian jays are scatter-hoarding birds in the fall which seeds, among them oak acorns, are retrieved in winter and spring. They thus compete with other granivores such as mice and wild boars, forgotten seeds contributing to recruitment of trees.

Sources

Oiseaux.net (Photos : (c) René Dumoulin & Jules Fouarges)

Oiseaux du Vercors

Wikipedia Fr - En

Selected references

Pons, J. & Pausas, J.G. 2008. Modelling jay (Garrulus glandarius) abundance and distribution for oak regeneration assessment in Mediterranean landscapes. Forest Ecology and Management 256 (4) 578-584.

-------, 2007. Acorn dispersal estimated by radio-tracking. Oecologia 954 (3) 904-911.

-------, 2007. Not only size matters: Acorn selection by the European jay (Garrulus glandarius). Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology 31 (3) 353-360.

Patterson, I. J., Cavallini, P. & Rolando, A. 1991. Density, range size and diet of the European Jay Garrulus glandarius in the Maremma Natural Park, Tuscany, Italy, in summer and autumn. Ornis Scandinavica 22 (2) : 79-87.

Moore, J. E. & Swihart, R. K. 2006. Diet choice of captive Blue Jays: implications for tree dispersal. Condor 108:377-388. pdf

Experts

Arndt Hampe