Episode 73: Blue Jay – Voice of the Wild

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