Damage and Damage Identification

Scrub (or California) jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens

Jays are omnivorous and therefore may damage several agricultural crops such as nuts, fruits, grains, peas, corn, and berries. They also take insects, small mammals, reptiles, and eggs and young of game birds and songbirds. Jays have a pronounced preference for fruits. Cherries, plums, prunes, pears, figs, grapes, and other fruits are often pecked and eaten. Depredations on almonds, pecans, and pistachios can be severe.

Legal Status

Scrub jays are classified as migratory nongame birds in the Code of Federal Regulations. They may be controlled only under a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Economics of Damage and Control

A 1984 survey of 92 California pistachio growers estimated losses from scrub jays to be slightly less than $50,000 on 14,263 acres. This average crop loss to jays amounted to $3.41 per acre ($8.53/ha). In 1985, an assessment of jay damage in pistachio orchards in Tulare County, California, revealed average losses of $150 per acre ($375/ ha). Pistachio growers may under-estimate their losses from scrub jays because the damage is distributed at low levels over most of the bearing trees in the orchard.