Crows (Corvidae)

Florida Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) - HBW 14, p. 572

French: Geai à gorge blanche German: Floridahäher Spanish: Chara Floridana
Other common names: Florida Jay

Taxonomy: Corvus coerulescens Bosc, 1795, in Amer. septentrionale = Florida, USA.
May form a superspecies with A. californica and A. insularis, and the three previously treated as conspecific. Relationships of this group with A. ultramarina and A. unicolor yet to be resolved, as recent studies indicate that divergence of these three major lineages within the genus was apparently rapid, leading to conflict among genetic markers. Present species hybridizes with A. californica (in captivity), and recorded as hybridizing once with Cyanocitta cristata. Monotypic.

Distribution: Peninsular Florida, in SE USA.