Birds have fascinated humans for millennia. Their ability to fly gives them a mysterious allure, and their songs and calls connect us to nature. Two of the most iconic backyard birds in North America are the robin and the blue jay. These common birds have distinct plumages, behaviors, and vocalizations that help us identify them. By exploring what robins and jays say, we gain insight into how they communicate and their role in nature’s symphony.
What does a robin sound like?
The robin has one of the most recognizable songs of any North American bird. The male’s song is a string of clear whistles often described as cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up. The song begins slowly, gradually speeds up, and ends on a high clear note. Robins sing throughout the spring and summer breeding seasons and can be heard proclaiming their territories as early as February and as late as July.
Both male and female robins give a sharp, alarmed tuk call when predators or threats are spotted. They also make softer, repetitive tut tut sounds during the breeding season as contact calls when interacting with their mate or young. When listening for robins, tune into their simple, repeating phrases of whistles and short notes.
What does a blue jay sound like?
The blue jay has a wide repertoire of vocalizations. Their most typical call is a loud, ringing jay-jay-jay. They make this call when excited, agitated, or to signal alarm. Jays give a modified version of this call when predators like hawks are spotted, with scratchier, lower-pitched elements added.
One of the blue jay’s most intriguing sounds is its song. While less melodious than a robin, the jay’s song incorporates whistles, gurgles, pops, and sometimes even the imitation of hawks or other birds. Jays sing most often in the breeding season but may sing any time of year when excited.
Blue jays also rely on quieter, subtler vocalizations to communicate with their mate and offspring. Listen for soft downslurred whistles and quiet rattles reserved for up-close jay-to-jay interactions. The jay combines boisterous alarm calls with soft private chatter to accomplish all its social communication needs.
Plumage Differences
While robins and jays both display some of their respective species’ classic traits, their plumages differ noticeably. These distinctions help birders easily identify them.
Robin Plumage
Robins have a gray back and head, black wings and tail, and bright reddish-orange underparts. The orange breast is what most people visualize when they think of a robin. The orange color comes from carotenoid pigments in the birds’ diet of fruits and berries. Robins molt into their bright breeding plumage in early spring.
Their plumage is dullest in winter when the colors are more subdued. Juvenile birds display spotting on the chest until their first molt. While some females may be slightly duller than males, overall the sexes appear alike. No matter the time of year, look for the robin’s orange face and breast.
Blue Jay Plumage
Blue jays are crested songbirds with blue upperparts and a white face and underparts. The blue includes vivid azure blue feathers on the back, wings, and tail contrasting with a darker blue crown. The crest often lies flat until the jay becomes agitated or excited and raises it to display alarm.
While jays appear blue and white from a distance, closer views reveal additional subtle plumage markings. Black bars line their wings and tail, and dark streaks run along their back. Faint black necklaces and dark eye lines also help distinguish the white face. Females and males look nearly identical. Jays show little seasonal variation in their bright blue, black, and white hues.
Behavioral Differences
Robins and jays have developed specialized behaviors and traits to take advantage of their habitats. Understanding some key differences in how they move, socialize, eat, and interact with their environments provides deeper insight into the lives of both species.
Robin Behaviors
Robins spend much of their time on the ground, often seen hopping across lawns or pathways. They run several steps and then pause briefly to spot prey or monitor threats. In flight, robins exhibit straight, direct flight with steady wing beats. Their flight is usually low to the ground.
Robins are omnivorous generalists, consuming a wide variety of fruits, seeds, and invertebrates. They often follow lawn mowers to swoop down on disturbed earthworms and grubs exposed in the newly-cut grass. Robins nest in a sturdy cup built with mud and grass and lay blue eggs. They may raise up to three broods per breeding season.
Blue Jay Behaviors
Jays are extremely active birds that spend a lot of time jumping between perches when foraging in trees. On the ground, they exhibit a bold, strutting walk. In flight, they alternate between slow flaps and effortless glides while constantly changing directions. Their undulating flight through the forest reflects their typical stop-and-go foraging habits.
Jays are omnivorous and opportunistic. They will eat fruits, seeds, arthropods, eggs, nestlings, and even small vertebrates. Jays sometimes store food in caches to eat later. They are bold and aggressive, known for raiding other birds’ feeders and nests. Jays build a sturdy nest of twigs lined with rootlets high in a conifer. The female alone incubates the greenish, darkly speckled eggs.
Ecological Roles
Beyond identification and behavior, comparing robins and jays provides insight into the different ecological roles they fill in their breeding habitats. Several key differences help explain how the species coexist.
Robin Ecology
Robins thrive in open habitats like lawns, fields, and orchards. They prefer to breed along forest edges or in partially wooded suburban parks. As ground nesters and feeders, robins require openings with short vegetation. Their diet links them to berry and fruit crops.
Robin numbers swell in migration and winter when more northern birds move south into the United States. Some robins now overwinter even in northern areas where berries persist. Robins are caring parents, devoted to one nesting territory during breeding.
Jay Ecology
Jays maintain permanent territories as year-round residents across boreal, temperate, and subtropical forests. They thrive in mature stands of oaks or conifers where they can cache food and nest high up in the cover of the canopy.
Their adaptations for eating seeds and nuts help jays thrive in forest interiors away from edge habitats. Highly social and intelligent, jays form family groups with offspring that cooperate to guard resources. Taking advantage of diverse foods, jays are forest ecosystem generalists.
Conclusion
Whether perched on a lawn or flitting through forested canopies, robins and jays create an ornithophonic symphony. Their songs, colors, behaviors, and roles provide a gateway into avian natural history. Noticing subtle details in the common birds around us opens our ears to nature’s voices and deepens our connection to the habitats we share. Careful observers can discover boundless beauty and meaning in the differences between two widespread songbirds.