Crows (Corvidae)

Island Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis) - HBW 14, p. 572

French: Geai de Santa Cruz German: Spanish: Chara de Santa Cruz
Other common names: Santa Cruz Jay

Taxonomy: Aphelocoma insularis Henshaw, 1886, Santa Cruz Island, California, USA.
May form a superspecies with A. californica and A. coerulescens, and the three previously treated as conspecific; present species derived from coastal clade of former. 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. Monotypic.

Distribution: Santa Cruz I (SW California), in SW USA.