Listen to the White-tailed jay
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the White-tailed jay
The White-tailed jay is a bird in the family Corvidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the White-tailed 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 white-tailed jay (Cyanocorax mystacalis), also known as the moustached jay, is a species of bird in the crow family Corvidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. It has a black face with white spots above and below the eyes, and a small white moustachial stripe. It has a white nape, belly, and underparts. Its back and wings are greyish-blue, extending most of the way down the tail. The rectrices and tail tip are white. It has several calls, the most common being described as "cha-cha-cha-cha".
The white-tailed jay was first described by the French ornithologist Louis Ernest Gustave de Sparre in 1835 and was given the scientific name Pica mystacalis. It was later placed in the genus Cyanocorax. It is visually very similar to the tufted jay, which is found in Mexico over 4,800 km (3,000 mi) away, and the two species were incorrectly thought to be close relatives. The white-tailed jay's relationship to others in the genus Cyanocorax is still unclear.
Related birds in the genus Cyanocorax
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
Blue jay
Cyanocitta cristata
Alpine chough
Pyrrhocorax graculus
Red-billed chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Frequently asked questions
What does a White-tailed jay sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the White-tailed 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 White-tailed jay endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the White-tailed jay as “least concern”.
What family does the White-tailed jay belong to?
The White-tailed jay (Cyanocorax mystacalis) belongs to the family Corvidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Call · Loja: Tambo Negro 10 km E Macará, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Loja: Tambo Negro 10 km E Macará, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q2667615 – CC0
- Wikipedia: White-tailed jay – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Francesco Veronesi – CC BY-SA 2.0