Intersection: Scrub and Pine Flatwoods

You have just walked along an area of Florida Scrub and are about to enter Pine Flatwoods. Keep an eye out for friendly blue and gray birds, as there are multiple families of Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) here at the Sanctuary. This is Florida's only endemic bird species (endemic: not found anywhere else on Earth).

Florida Scrub-jays look a bit like Blue Jays, but with more gray on their backs, foreheads, and bellies. These birds live in highly social family groups with older siblings staying to help protect the family territory and raise the next young. They only live in open habitats with low-growing oaks, such as Sand Live Oak and Myrtle Oak, where they can cache acorns by burying them in the sand. This habitat type has been heavily developed in Florida, and as a result, Florida Scrub-jays are federally endangered.