Blue Jay Call (2 Viewers)

[Wild Ideas]

The Blue Jays where I now live (in Virginia, near the Allegheny Mts.) have a call that I can't find in the Merlin app, or even in the Macaulay Library. I thought they might be mimicking some songbird, but they use it frequently and seem to be talking to each other. I'm starting to wonder if this is not part of a dialect for Blue Jays in this area. I've attached a recording (taken on my cell phone). If anyone has heard other jays using this call, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[emc]

I can't hear anything

 

[Wild Ideas]

I can't hear anything

I recorded the sound with my phone, which is not great for that. It helps to turn your volume up.

 

[emc]

Still don't hear anything, I tried on my tablet too but the sound is so faint I can't make anything out of it.

 

[NorthernHarrier]

Sounds to me like a variation on what Donald Kroodsma refers to as the “pump handle” type of blue jay call, one of the five types of blue jay calls categorized by Kroodsma. There’s a good YouTube video series in several parts describing the variety in blue jay calls and sounds.