Home range, population density, and habitat utilization of the Sichuan Jay (Perisoreus internigrans)

We assessed habitat preference and population status of the Sichuan Jay (Perisoreus internigrans), a poorly known Chinese endemic bird, at two sites (Zhuoni and Jiuzhaigou) in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau between 2001 and 2004. Mean group size was 3.8 jays. Each group occupied a mean home range of 42.0 ha during the breeding season, and the mean internest distance was 2.7 km. These data indicated that the jays used less than ten percent of the available habitats and occurred at an overall density of only 0.6 jays per km². Radio-tracked Sichuan Jays had a strong preference for mature montane coniferous forests and avoided areas dominated by shrubs, while the utilization of young conifers, grassland, and human residential habitat types did not differ significantly from the values expected from the home-range availabilities of these habitats generally.