The eagle sounds like a disappointed gull.
I love that there are still people learning that for the first time. Keep it going.
Xkcd reference: https://xkcd.com/1053/
It’s so good, because it’s just so logical.
Interesting way of dropping the “I actually knew that already”. 😄
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.
Especially when they kidnap you and drag you though weird time travel adventures
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
I’ve heard starlings imitate red kites, so that tracks.
It’s not surprising. The bald eagle song is not very intimidating and they call rarely.
Since no one has provided an example yet, here’s a video.
Thanks, the top comment is le epic xkcd lucky 10.000. I like some xkcd comics but this one is just saying “Knew it! I knew it already!” with some fairly questionable statistics behind it.
That Submersive Communist Bastard!
No, you’re thinking of the orca
Idk, Conan was pretty convincing when fans called him out years ago.
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.
Shhh… if orange baby hears, he’s going to rename the bird to Canada America…
Holy shit! Do it.
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.
also the golden eagle is a superior hunter than the Bald eagle, the bald one just likes to steal kills most of the time, although they do hunt, they can hunt prey like goldens can. if you compare the talons of the golden and bald, the golden massive ones.
Fitting that the bald eagle is representing the US then.
The bald eagle is also not a real eagle.
But mostly turkey vultures in movies
