Cyanocitta cristata
A Blue Jay is usually the loudest bird in the yard: a harsh, slightly nasal jay! jay! scream, repeated, often from several birds at once. It also gives a squeaky, bouncing queedle-queedle like an old pump handle, a dry clicking rattle, and a convincing copy of a Red-shouldered Hawk's kee-aah.
Every sound the Blue Jay makes
4 sounds to learn, each with a recording.
Jay Call
Mid pitch · Repeated
A loud, harsh scream with a slightly nasal edge, usually given two to several times in a row: jaay, jaay, jaay. Pitch, length and speed vary from bird to bird and with mood, from a clipped jay to a longer, drawn-out jeeah. It carries across a whole neighborhood, and when a few jays join in it sounds like a small riot.
“jay! jay!”
Year round. Rallying other jays, mobbing hawks, owls and cats, and squabbling at feeders.
Pumphandle Call
Mid pitch · Repeated
A musical, squeaky phrase of linked notes, repeated in a bouncing rhythm: queedle, queedle. It has the creak-and-ring of an old hand pump or a clothesline pulley, sometimes clear and bell-like, sometimes gurgling. Plenty of people never guess it comes from the same bird as the scream.
“queedle-queedle”
Year round. A milder alarm than the jay call, often heard from loose flocks moving through in spring and fall.
Red-shouldered Hawk Imitation
High pitch · Repeated
A ringing, two-part scream, kee-aah, with the second half dropping in pitch, copied from the Red-shouldered Hawk closely enough to fool experienced birders. Blue Jays also imitate the hoarse, drawn-out scream of the Red-tailed Hawk. If the hawk seems to be calling from inside a leafy tree by your feeder, and ordinary jay notes follow, suspect the jay.
“kee-aah, kee-aah”
Year round. Why jays do it is not settled: it may tell other jays a hawk is near, or trick other birds into leaving a feeder.
Rattle
Mid pitch · Trill
A quick run of dry, wooden clicks, often with a sharper click at the start and the end, like a stick run fast along a picket fence. It hardly sounds like a bird, which is why it puzzles people who hear it from a nearby tree. The jay often bobs up and down as it rattles.
Year round. Given by females, often to other jays close by.
What to listen for
- Harsh jay! screams in a row, often from more than one bird, mean Blue Jays.
- A hawk scream from inside a tree near your feeders, followed by jay notes: check for a Blue Jay before you look for a hawk.
- A squeaky, rhythmic queedle-queedle that sounds like a pump handle is a Blue Jay too.
- Jays go quiet near the nest in late spring, so a sudden burst of screaming then usually means a predator.
- Late April to mid May, and again mid September to mid October, watch and listen for loose flocks passing overhead, especially along the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast.
Birds that sound like the Blue Jay
By ear: The real hawk often keeps up its kee-aah in a long, steady series, frequently while circling over wet woods. A jay's copy usually comes from inside the trees and gets mixed in with ordinary jay notes, so when in doubt, find the bird.
By ear: A real Red-tail gives a hoarse, two-to-three-second kee-eeeee-arr, usually while soaring. Blue Jays imitate it too, so a Red-tail scream from a suburban oak with no hawk overhead deserves a second look.
By ear: Where the two meet along the eastern edge of the Rockies, Steller's Jay gives a fast, harsh shook-shook-shook-shook series rather than the Blue Jay's ringing, separated jay! jay!
By ear: Mockingbirds copy Blue Jay screams well, but they rarely stop at one sound: after a few repeats the same bird switches to a cardinal whistle, a car alarm or something else entirely.
When and where you'll hear it
When
Most vocal from March to April and from September to November, at dawn and during the day.
- Dawn
- Daytime
Where
Year round across the eastern and central US, from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts west to the foot of the Rockies, where it is now common in Front Range towns. West of the Rockies it is a rare visitor, and Steller's Jays and scrub-jays take its place.
- Yards
- Woods
- Cities
Practice the Blue Jay in the app
Practice the “jay! jay!” until you can name it without looking. Wings & Whistles plays it in 2 interactive listening lessons, mixed with the birds you’ll hear around it.
How to recognize the Blue Jay by sight
A large, crested songbird with bright blue upperparts and a white face and underparts. The wings and tail are blue with black bars and white patches or tips. Has a bold black necklace across the throat and up to the sides of the head behind the crest. The bill, legs, and feet are black. Females and males look alike, though females may be slightly smaller.
Similar-looking species (4)
- Steller's Jay: Steller’s Jays have a darker head and upper body, a taller crest, and no Blue Jay-style white wing bars or black necklace.
- California Scrub-Jay: California Scrub-Jays are crestless and blue-and-gray, without the Blue Jay’s black necklace; look for them mainly along the Pacific side of the West.
- Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays are crestless, long-tailed, and blue-and-gray, with an interior western and southwestern range.
- Canada Jay: Canada Jays are soft gray with a pale face, no crest, and none of a Blue Jay’s bright blue-and-black pattern.
Blue Jay sounds FAQ
When does the Blue Jay call?
The Blue Jay is most vocal from March to April and from September to November, mostly at dawn and during the day.