Episode Number
73
Episode Show Notes / Description
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata).
A common corvid with a big vocabulary.
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The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:
- Blue Jay "jay" call 1 by Wil Hershberger (ML507916)
- Blue Jay "jay" call 2 by Geoffrey A. Keller (ML507922)
- Blue Jay red-tail mimic by Lucie R. Gunn (ML507946)
- Blue Jay red-shouldered mimic by Wil Hershberger (ML227078211)
- Blue Jay grinding call by Wil Hershberger (ML507923)
- Blue Jay "gentle honking" call by William W. H. Gunn (ML507931)
- Blue Jay alarm squeaking by Robert C. Stein and Robert B. Angstadt (ML507939)
- Blue Jay rusty gate call by Robert C. Stein and Eugene Morton (ML507936)
- Blue Jay musical rusty gate call by Matthew D. Medler (ML507942)
- Blue Jay "whisper" song by Martha Fischer (ML507918)
- Blue Jay "jay" call 3 by Wil Hershberger (ML507915)
Sources and more:
- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/
- https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/blue-jay
- Godfrey, M. A., & Kaufman, Kenn. (Directors). (2004). National Audubon Society videoguide to the birds of North America [Video recording]. In Audubon videoguide to 505 birds of North America DVD I & DVD II (Fullscreen.). Godfrey-Stadin Productions.
- Peterson, R. T., & Peterson, V. M. (1980). A field guide to the birds: A completely new guide to all the birds of eastern and central North America (Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged.). Houghton Mifflin Company.
- Sibley, D. (2016). Sibley birds East: Field guide to birds of eastern North America (2nd ed.). Alfred A. Knopf.
- Walton, R. K., & Lawson, R. W. (1989). Birding by Ear: Eastern/Central [Compact Disc]. On Eastern/Central birding by ear. Houghton Mifflin Co.
Transcript
This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”
A charismatic corvid, and one of our boldest birds, was originally an inhabitant the leading edge of the forest, but are now common in tree-filled cities, especially those with healthy oaks producing lots of their favorite food; acorns. This is the blue jay.
The jay is another bird who’s commonness obscures the richness of their vocal repertoire. On this second playthrough i’ll walk us through a wider range of their vocabulary.
First the calls we heard before, “jay, Jay”, sometimes sweeping and other times flat
Now try the mimicked call of the hawks in the neighborhood
a Crow-like grinding or gurgling
Now gentle honks and alarming squeaks
A call best compared to a rusty gate, now try that one delivered…musically
And the rarely heard, so-called, “whisper song”
The humble blue jay; a whole show...for the low cost of an acorn.
Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sounds. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW
A charismatic corvid, and one of our boldest birds, was originally an inhabitant the leading edge of the forest, but are now common in tree-filled cities, especially those with healthy oaks producing lots of their favorite food; acorns. This is the blue jay.
The jay is another bird who’s commonness obscures the richness of their vocal repertoire. On this second playthrough i’ll walk us through a wider range of their vocabulary.
First the calls we heard before, “jay, Jay”, sometimes sweeping and other times flat
Now try the mimicked call of the hawks in the neighborhood
a Crow-like grinding or gurgling
Now gentle honks and alarming squeaks
A call best compared to a rusty gate, now try that one delivered…musically
And the rarely heard, so-called, “whisper song”
The humble blue jay; a whole show...for the low cost of an acorn.
Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sounds. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW