365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Jay Joy
Day 82: I hear a lot of people complain, "Oh, those Steller's Jays! They're so noisy!" and in fact their call is often referred to as "scolding." However, these corvids are also mimics, and can do a very good imitation of a Red-tailed Hawk's "keeeeer!", a talent which often secures the best spots at the feeders for them. However, as the little boy who cried "Wolf!" learned, with familiarity comes complacency, "Yeah, that's just ol' Blue again, trying to frighten us away." Inevitably, the penalty is sometimes exacted when a real hawk is in the neighborhood and a hapless junco or sparrow fails to check the source of the sound. That said, when the Jays put up a fuss, it generally means we should all stop what we're doing and look around us. There may be a good reason they're giving a general alert.
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