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11 December 2023 CANADA JAY PREDATION OF WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS)
Paul Hendricks
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

In this note, I report on my observations of a pair of Canada Jays (Perisoreus canadensis) gathering live engorged female Winter Ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) from the recent bed of a yearling Moose (Alces alces) and flying into the adjacent woods to cache the ticks before returning for more. The Moose bed was on snow and contained loose hair and blood-stained snow as well as the engorged ticks. I found 12 additional beds on snow during the next 48 h within 250 m of the original bed, and all contained loose hair and blood-stained snow, but no ticks. Jays may routinely visit Moose beds on snow in spring because they recognize them as a potential source of food. Moose, however, may not be present during spring in many jay territories, so access to engorged ticks at beds is probably opportunistic and unreliable.

Paul Hendricks "CANADA JAY PREDATION OF WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS)," Northwestern Naturalist 104(3), 272-275, (11 December 2023). https://doi.org/10.1898/NWN23-05
Received: 11 April 2023; Accepted: 5 June 2023; Published: 11 December 2023
KEYWORDS
Alces alces
Canada Jay
Dermacentor albipictus
foraging behavior
Montana
moose
Perisoreus canadensis
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