Corvid Song Mimicry: Who, What, Where, Why?
Author: Jose Verdin
Faculty Supervisor: Jaime Chaves
Department: Biology
Members of the Corvidae family (crows, ravens, scrub and stellar jays) have a family-wide ability to mimic noises produced by several species. Raven’s mimicry abilities are skilled and unmatched, being able to imitate humans, other predators like wolves or foxes, and even anthropogenic sounds like car engines or toilets flushing. Scrub and Steller Jays are known to mimic the call of raptors like Red-Shouldered Hawks, however the purpose of this is not completely known, as the jays have been recorded imitating these hawk calls in the presence of other birds, other corvids, and while alone. With all of this in mind, the question still lingers as to the purpose and benefit of this skill? In order to find a possible answer, several different academic articles that have tried to tackle this same topic, have been reviewed and analyzed in order to see if some consensus can be reached. As it stands, none of the academic literature reviewed has reached a conclusive answer. Further review and data is required before any conclusions can be drawn about corvid song mimicry. Learning more about this ability can help us better understand the cerebral capacity of corvids, as well as their social capabilities.