Green Jay calls - Celestun First four calls in sound file depicted Click on spectrogram to download sound file

Song Description:

The noisy Green Jay is capable of producing a wide variety of calls, ranging from "parakeet-like chatter," to tinny croaking, to raspy, scolding notes (Howell & Webb 1995; Scott 1987).  The call pictured above is a series of resonant jay jay jay jay calls often repeated many times in long calling bouts.

Song Measures:

The jay call is a series of four or five identical syllables, repeated at a rate of approximately 6 syllables per second.  Syllables vary in absolute pitch from 1000 to 3500 Hz, and show strong overtones as high as 5500 Hz.  The two birds that I recorded seemed to switch between two renditions of the same call; one ~ 500 Hz higher than the other.  Calls may be repeated as often as every two seconds (N = 15 calls from two individuals).

Singing Behaviour:

I found Green Jays difficult to follow as they moved around through thick shrubs, only occasionally popping up to song posts at the top of bushes and in the low branches of deciduous trees.  All calling bouts were given by birds perched at a single location for the duration of the bout.

Habitat:

A number of Green Jays were found moving throughout the thickest vegetation in the sandy scrub bordering the marshes in Celestun.

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All information and photographs copyright Daniel J. Mennill 1999.
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