SPOTTED TOWHEE MIMICRY OF A BLUE JAY

Abstract

On 27 March 2024 I video- and audio-recorded a Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) mimicking the “jay” call of the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) at Centennial, Colorado. Although the closely related Eastern Towhee (P. erythrophthalmus) has been noted imitating other birds a few times, the only previous report of the Spotted Towhee mimicking dates to the 19th century.