The ability to interpret Bird Language is one of the deepest levels of connection that people can develop with nature. What is Bird Language?
The subtly of alarm calls & behavior makes understanding their language a lifelong journey of learning.
One of the best ways to go deeper with bird language is to share curiosity with other people who are also learning about birds.
So today I’m going to share with you some of the questions that are at the leading edge of my knowledge with regards to bird language.
You’ll be able to use these questions to inspire deeper awareness & connection on your own adventures.
Here they are:
Motivations For Blue Jay Aerial Predator Imitation
It’s well known that Blue Jays will vocally imitate aerial predators.
Like this Blue Jay.
And this Stellar’s Jay.
I’ve also noticed that Jays often seem to imitate the hawks that are most common on a given landscape.
The question I’ve been looking at is what are all the different reasons they do this?
We know hawk-mimicking is a common behavior at feeders where it has the effect of scattering birds into cover.
But I’ve also observed Blue Jays imitating Accipiters in very different contexts, sometimes associated with alert behavior & alarms from other species.
This has led me to wonder if the jays might be mimicking hawks as an alarm.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a Blue Jay up at the top of a Red Spruce tree, looking into the distance and making a perfect Sharp-Shinned Hawk call.
It would be really cool to know why they do that… and why it’s sometimes associated with alarms from other birds.
Some things to track:
- Under what circumstances do Blue Jays imitate aerial predators?
- What determines which predator they choose to imitate?
- How often are these imitations associated with sentinel behavior & other alarms?
Related Online resources:
The Context of Blue Jay Mimicking Cooper’s Hawk Cackle
Vocal Mimicry of Broad-Winged Hawk by Blue Jay
Factors Influencing Woodpecker Vocalization Styles
The winter bird population is somewhat sparse in Nova Scotia compared to certain other places.
Every winter I try to learn as much as I can about the mixed flocks of Chickadees, Kinglets, and other small birds that roam our neighborhood. They’re one of my main sources of winter bird language information.
I read a study that talked about how wintering downy woodpeckers sometimes hang out with mixed flocks. They seem to be taking cues about landscape safety off the constant vocalizing habits of these mixed groups.
The idea is that woodpeckers have less of a need to vocalize when there is a mixed flock nearby.
I would like to verify this for myself and start tuning in to their patterns.
Some things to track:
- Do downy & hairy woodpeckers vocalize less frequently when they’re with mixed winter flocks
- What is their baseline vocalization when solo?
- What is their baseline vocalization when there are other birds around?
Related Online Resources:
The advantages of social foraging in downy woodpeckers
Information exploitation by downy woodpeckers in mixed-species flocks
Playbacks of mobbing calls of Chickadees help estimate abundance of forest birds in winter
Changes in Avian Vocalization Occurrence and Frequency Range During the Winter
Norther Harrier Bird Alarms
A few weeks ago I observed Flickers, Robins, Red Squirrels & Pheasants alarming with the presence of a Northern Harrier.
The concentric ring was quite large and I wasn’t sure if it was just the Harrier or if there was also something else around.
I’m mostly curious just to gather more information about Harriers in general and their accompanying alarms.
I haven’t spent enough time on the marsh and it’s so amazing how much you can learn by being able to see really far.
Some things to track:
- Do Northern Flickers alarm at Harriers?
- Are there times when Harriers don’t cause alarms?
- Are concentric rings larger in open landscapes? Why?
Related Online Resources:
Responses of Norther Harriers to Mobbing Passerines
The effects of supplemental perch sites on avian predation and demography of voles
Here’s a video of Northern Harrier Hunting.
Accipiter Diets & Demographics
I regularly see alarm patterns that make me think there might be an Accipiter in the area.
The robins fly up to sentinel positions, flickers start giving their alarmed “kleer” calls & I see bird plows popping through the landscape.
Given the size of the birds involved it makes me think about a Cooper’s Hawk.
According to research, Sharp-shinned hawks tend to eat sparrow sized birds, Cooper’s tend to eat robins & dove sized birds, while Goshawks eat mostly squirrels, hares & pheasants.
The thing I find odd about this is that here in Nova Scotia, Cooper’s Hawks are extremely rare.
They don’t even appear on the range maps in field guides.
I know there are Sharpies in my neighborhood, but I wouldn’t expect them to cause such alarm in the robins, flickers & doves.
So my big question here is around whether diet patterns change in the absence of Cooper’s Hawks.
Maybe it’s more reasonable for a Sharp-shinned hawk to go after robins when there are no Cooper’s hawks to compete with.
Maybe it’s the Goshawks that are causing all this commotion. Any thoughts?
Some things to track:
- Do sharp-shinned hawks predate American Robins & Mourning Doves?
- What about a Goshawk?
- Which would be more likely?
- How Important is context here?
Some Related Resources:
Unfounded Assumptions About The Diet of the Cooper’s Hawk
A Summary of Three Methods For Assessing Raptor Diet During Breeding Season
Hunting Behavior And Diet Of Cooper’s Hawks
The Predatory Behavior of Wintering Accipiter Hawks
Songbird Populations In Fluctuating Environments
What Questions Are Guiding Your Awareness?
I hope you find these questions inspire you to get out there & pay attention to the birds of your local area.
If you like this article please share it with all your bird nerd friends to keep the good times rolling!
The more we share, the more we all learn and grow together in a natural way.
I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open for any hints of clues to help me piece together the answers to my questions. I’ll let you know what I discover.
And now I’d like to hear from you…
What questions are guiding your awareness of the birds right now?
Leave me your thoughts in the comment box below!
I am a marine science teacher at a preK-3 through 8th grade school. We are right on the shores of y and have just finished building a pier and outdoor classroom over the water. I also just had shoulder surgery. So while everyone is excited to get on the dock, I am somewhat incapacitated to do so at the current time. I stumbled upon your site looking for “nature observation” activities to do with my students until I am 100%again. First, thanks for what you are doing and second, your thoughts on birds, while not directly related to the shore/marine birds we see, did get me thinking about having the kids simply observe and look for connections between bird actions and the reasons they do what they do. I had not thought of this. Thanks for giving me lots to do in my new classroom when we return to school next week! Keep it up!
That should have said “on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay”. iPad not cooperating! Sorry!
Hey Kathryn, thanks for your kind words. It sounds like you live in an amazing place to introduce children to marine science.
You totally got the main point of this article which is that Observation + Curiosity = Learning & Connection.
This can be applied to everything in nature.. even the fish in the sea.
I love the way you describe it, “having the kids simply observe and look for connections between bird actions and the reasons they do what they do.”
That hits it right on the nose.
One of the greatest gifts we can give to children is a love for observing nature. I’m sure your work will have a positive impact on their lives.
Thanks for sharing & welcome to my website!
Hi, Brian. Your youtube channel led me here.
Living in the city, and being mostly housebound for a couple of years, I’ve been getting my nature ‘fix’ through the birds. The family of crows that my roomie and I have befriended, are quite vocal.
Two of them will sit on the lamp post and chat. The sound is kind of gobbling, and also bobbing up and down the head, in a bowing motion, whilst raising the wings a bit. I bow back, and make some sounds of my own. All my life, I have clicked my tongue to whatever crows live in my neighbourhood, and have always enjoyed a comfortable relationship with this bird.
I’m familiar with their alarms, having observed this when cats are nearby. Also, I watched a fierce encounter when in the country, when a huge owl was attacking the nest. Crows won, and chased off the owl after about 45 minutes. It was awesome to watch.
Having the 4-5 caw system explained was enlightening and interesting. Since watching the vid, I’ve observed that they do this signalling, from here, then a few seconds later I will hear another reply from the graveyard across the street, and so on.
Also, if I leave to hobble to the store, the one crow (we call him Little Crow, he’s 3 years old) will follow down the street, flying ahead a bit and cawing to let me know he is there. I click to him as I pass, and he then flies up another block and waits on the telephone line for me to pass. This goes on for 4-6 blocks. What do you make of that?
Thanks so much for your youtube channel and site. I’m stuck in the city, and a bit housebound. Most people don’t understand how I miss being in nature, or how much we need to connect that way. I’ve shared your channel on reddit, and hope that people will visit your site – lots of folks could benefit from your services!
We also have a pair of blue jay friends, who visit almost daily. They, too, will talk. They have a mewing sound, and some really quiet twitters. I shall look up the sound of that hawk’s cry. We have a hawk that hunts here, especially in winter. I wonder if the blue jays imitate its cry?