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I love that there are still people learning that for the first time. Keep it going.
Xkcd reference: https://xkcd.com/1053/
Another fun fact about red-tailed hawk screams: blue jays will imitate them, so sometimes when you hear it outside that doesn’t even mean one is close. It’s not known for certain why they do it, but I suspect it’s because they’re little bastards (affectionate)
Because blue jays are kind of assholes.
They are corvids, so they're super smart.
Interesting! I heard what I thought was a hawk today and eventually the (seemingly) same bird transitioned to another call which I recognized as blue jay. Also two weeks ago I heard some really strange bird noises and when I used Merlin sound ID it first identified a red tailed hawk, then a blue jay. I wonder if it was actually just a blue jay both times?
Totally possible! Blue jays are excellent little mimics, and I’ve had Merlin get fooled by mockingbirds before.
I appreciate this bird fact. Highlight of my day!
I assumed jays do it since they are nest robbers trying to scare off a mom/pop.
I'm pretty sure other birds will do this too, we get these little black birds that do it
It's not surprising. The bald eagle song is not very intimidating and they call rarely.
Idk, Conan was pretty convincing when fans called him out years ago.
That Submersive Communist Bastard!
No, you’re thinking of the orca
Since no one has provided an example yet, here's a video.
I was very surprised the first time I heard one in our backyard. I was thinking "WTF!? Was that a seagull?"
I always heard bald eagle calls as an "ukikiki" sound, they are pretty common here in my part of British Columbia.
The Canada Eagle*. We have most of them now, we should rename them.
Holy shit! Do it.
Shhh... if orange baby hears, he's going to rename the bird to Canada America...
Also a fun fact: red-tailed hawks aren't hawks, they're a type of buzzard.
Really? Got a source? I'm not doubting you, just intensely curious
It's a terminology clash.
In the US, it's common to refer to vultures as buzzards, but in much of the rest of the world, buzzard refers to what I've heard referred to as the "broad winged hawks" like the red tailed hawk and the red shouldered hawk. In contrast to the "short winged hawks" (accipiters) , like the Cooper's hawk or the sharp shinned hawk.
A similar naming clash exists with sparrow hawks, which are hawks, except for what we in the US call a sparrow hawk, which is a type of falcon.
So red tailed hawks are a type of hawk, and in some places are called buzzards.
Thank you. I had gleaned that buzzard was a term we use differently in the US but you've helped clarify the topic even more for me.
Red-tailed hawks are of the genus Buteo. Per the Wikipedia article on hawks:
In the United States, members of the Buteo group are also called hawks, though birds of this group are called buzzards in other parts of the world.
Thanks! Birds are endlessly interesting creatures.
But mostly turkey vultures in movies
this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2026
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