Blue Jay Miming Hawk (1 Viewer)

This was a first for me this week. I have a blue jay who can do a dead-on imitation of a hawk. He does two different sounds -- the whistling cry they make when they're soaring above, and then a call, something more like the sound of a juvenile calling from a nest.

I was out in the yard yesterday early a.m. putting out seed, and heard a hawk - gee, sounds like he's right out front, and low, too -- I go out there, and I see this small blue-jay sized (!) bird in a bare tree, making the sounds. I'm saying to myself, this is some small hawk! And then he flies to the ground, and voila, it's a blue jay, and he starts making his standard blue jay noises.

At the time he was imitating the hawk, there were several crows around, pecking at my trash bags out for pickup... I'm positive he was trying to scare them off. The result, however, is that barely any of the seed I put in the feeders yesterday has been touched! That clever blue jay is scaring everything away.

I've never heard of blue jays being such effective imitators. This was very cool! I know they can be marauders but I just love them, they're so vocal and demonstrative, and gorgeous feathers. And smart, too!

And they steal food (peanuts) from the squirrel feeder, a reverse on the norm that I find particularly endearing!

Home Bird
www.homebirdnotes.com

Hi Kate

I've got them imitating Red-shouldered hawks down here and let me tell you they are good at their imitiations. The poor Downys freeze in their tracks the minute the Bluejays start in.

Well this behavior was new to me, but not new to the world of blue jays, as I found out doing a little searching online. I am still fascinated. My husband and I now wonder how often we actually heard a hawk, when it was just that crafty jay!!

I grew up in a heavily wooded area adjacent to a huge Mass. Audubon sanctuary... my dad taught me a love of birding at a young age, and with all there was to see and hear around my house, I just thought I knew everything there was to know about the birds of eastern Mass. Silly! Literally, little did I know. It's amazing to be my age and still discovering.

Enjoy your own winter shows, folks! I do love my backyard entertainment!

I was out with a better birder years back when we heard a redtailed hawk. His response was bluetailed hawk and explained the blue jay mimic which was the only near-by bird seen.
Sam

I've been fooled more than once by the blue jays' hawk imitation. Although it's disappointing not to see the hawk I was expecting, it can be just as fascinating to see this behavior from the jay.