Feeding Behavior in Steller's Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri): Effects of Food Type and Social Context

In this study we analyzed various factors affecting the activities in which Steller's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) engaged while feeding. We found that the rate of pecking at seeds by jays was affected by available seed type and the presence and activity of nearby conspecifics. Jays at an artificial feeding platform seemed to pay attention to other individuals, in that they pecked at a lower rate when another jay was nearby, except when the otherjay was feeding at a different platform. The decreased feeding rate when twojays shared the same feeding platform is contrary to the widely reported pattern of increased feeding and decreased scanning correlated with increased group size in various species. Our analysis suggests that this pattern of behavior fits with observations that Steller's jays show site-specific dominance, mutual interference at a concentrated food source, and do not live in structured flocks with consistent membership.