FAQ

Forages on the ground and in trees, usually in flocks. Harvests large numbers of acorns and buries them, coming back to retrieve and eat them later.

3-4, sometimes 2-6. Usually light green, spotted with olive or brown. Incubation is by female, usually 17-18 days. Male feeds female during incubation. Young: Fed by both parents and by "helpers" in the nesting group. Young leave nest about 18 days after hatching. 1 brood per year, sometimes 2.

Fed by both parents and by "helpers" in the nesting group. Young leave nest about 18 days after hatching. 1 brood per year, sometimes 2.

Their diet consists mostly of acorns and arthropods. Acorns make up a major part of the diet across most seasons. Eats a wide variety of insects, especially in summer, as well as a few spiders and snails. Also eats berries, seeds, and some small vertebrates such as reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and the eggs and young of smaller birds.

Breeds in cooperative flocks. Each nesting territory is occupied by an adult pair and often by one to six "helpers," usually the pair's offspring from previous years. These additional birds assist in defending the territory and feeding the young. Studies have shown that a pair with "helpers" is likely to raise more young than a pair without. Nest site is in tree or shrub, usually an oak, with sand live oak strongly favored. Nest is usually low, averaging 3-4 feet above the ground. Nest (built by both sexes) is a well-built, thick-walled cup of twigs, grass, and moss, lined with fine rootlets and plant fibers.