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CANADA JAY PREDATION OF WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS).
- Source :
-
Northwestern Naturalist . Winter2023, Vol. 104 Issue 3, p272-275. 4p. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *DERMACENTOR
*TICKS
*IXODIDAE
*MOOSE
*SPRING
*PREDATION
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10511733
- Volume :
- 104
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Northwestern Naturalist
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 174158664
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1898/NWN23-05