CANADA JAY PREDATION OF WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS)

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.