Listen to the blue jay
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the blue jay
The blue jay is a bird in the family Corvidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the blue jay sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are also in Newfoundland, Canada; breeding populations are found across southern Canada. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common in residential areas. Its coloration is predominantly blue, with a white chest and underparts, and a blue crest; it has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest. Males and females are similar in size and plumage, which does not vary throughout the year. Four subspecies have been recognized.
Related birds in the genus Cyanocitta
More from the family Corvidae
Common raven
Corvus corax
Eurasian magpie
Pica pica
Eurasian jay
Garrulus glandarius
Western jackdaw
Coloeus monedula
Rook
Corvus frugilegus
Hooded crow
Corvus cornix
Carrion crow
Corvus corone
Northern nutcracker
Nucifraga caryocatactes
Alpine chough
Pyrrhocorax graculus
Red-billed chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
House crow
Corvus splendens
Frequently asked questions
What does a blue jay sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the blue jay on this page, including its call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the blue jay endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the blue jay as “least concern”.
What family does the blue jay belong to?
The blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) belongs to the family Corvidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Call · Carver Park Reserve, Carver, Minnesota, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, Dakota, Minnesota, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Grey Cloud Dunes SNA, Washington, Minnesota, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Carver Park Reserve, Carver, Minnesota, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Miesville Ravine Park Reserve, Goodhue County, Minnesota… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q199758 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Blue jay – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Rhododendrites – CC BY-SA 4.0