Blue Jay that sounds like a Red-Tailed Hawk

[spatsycat]

For at least 2 weeks now, my neighbour and I have been searching the trees on our street for a Red-Tailed Hawk that has been calling away at various times of the day.
Were we surprised to find it was a Blue Jay that sounds exactly like a hawk! Has anyone heard of this before? Seems strange that the Jay has managed to 'mimic' the hawk's call so well! Any ideas?

[ravynne40]

i found this info on blue jays, apparently this is true!

http://www.birdjam.com/birdsong.php?id=5

[spatsycat]

Thanks so much ravynne40! I listened to the calls on that site and heard many I recognize. Wish I could record ours tho' as he/she seems to have mastered the hawk better than those recorded - it's very uncanny how hawk-like it sounds! It's the high screech call we hear. Too bad the article can't illuminate why/how they learned to do that - fascinating.
Almost sounds like some poor Jay was raised by hawks and has an identity crisis!

[Brian Bailey]

Yes, Blue Jays have a very wide range of vocalizations.  You can often hear some soft cooing and flute-like notes in the summer, especially if you come across a family group.

BB

[TomTelford]

We've got some here that seem to be immitating the woodpeckers' "laugh".  I jump for my camera every time I hear it only to be dissappointed...  Oh well.

Tom.

[Pat Hodgson]

I've heard them do red-shouldered hawk and broad-winged hawk calls too.

[Bill & Jaye]

Wow!  Mystery solved!
We have been hearing a red tail hawk cry but have never seen the red tail hawk right around here.  I was completly confused.  So thanks to this web site, we now know its most likely a jay.

[zx003]

And I thought I was crazy when I heard a Red Shouldered Hawk hiding in my hedge! :wink:

[mr.sharp-photo]

at 6 AM, i'd been hearing a RTH call from my front yard. it happened a few times. nary a hawk in site, but i finally saw a blue jay fly away or i would hear the call followed up with the typical jay call after.
this winter, i also heard the RTH call from Lambton Woods. but it was always a blue jay.

[ravynne40]

There are hawks in Lambton woods, I saw one but didn't get close enough to make an ID and I saw a few flying over head but way up too high to determined which Hawks they were.

[birderinontario]

Birding is hard enough already! This makes it even tougher for a newbie. I find there are few birds I can identify by sound but once I see a bird, then its call always makes sense!

[Howieh]

If you think a bluejay makes things difficult just wait until you encounter a mockingbird. I saw one in the Humber Arboretum that had more 'voices' than Rich Little!

[Napper]

try this

More comprehensive.
 

http://www.naturesongs.com/pass.html

Napper

here are a few more

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/99/_/Blue_Jay.aspx

probably the best site out there is  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/blue_jay/id

[Axeman]

I've noticed they have such a wide variety of calls -- I figured the calls were common to the species but I"m wondering if little communities have their own special calls....I'm convinced that some of the calls I hear around my place were the inspiration for the vocalizations of the velacorapters in Jurassic Park...and their behaviour too...they hang out in little sneaky packs....

This summer, apparently we had a blue jay nest in a cedar tree just behind our deck...I was kinda wondering about it but we get them in the cedar bush a lot...we have feeders adjacent to it sooo....anyway, I found a fledgling one day...confirmed it for me...I'm sure I can pinpoint the tree but never did find the nest...the fledgling was good to go...looked like a mini blue jay...pretty cute.

I find them hypocritical though...I mean they mob predators and yet, they're predatory too.

[Bird Brain]

If you think a bluejay makes things difficult just wait until you encounter a mockingbird. I saw one in the Humber Arboretum that had more 'voices' than Rich Little!

 :lol:  Good one!

Yeah ... I'm amazed at some of the imitations/sounds Blue Jays, Mockingbirds and Crows make!