Little Known Fact: Blue Jays are Vicious Carnivores

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Look at that Blue Jay, isn’t he cute? They are so beautiful, and so are their songs! I wonder what he would do differently if he ever caught me doing that again he wouldn't be so rational. Such wonderful little creatures.

evil blue jay Little does my grandma know, as she watches the birds fly and sing out her window, that Blue Jays actually readily kill and eat other song birds.

I didn’t even know what would happen next to victims were Myles and Trevor. I was sitting in the Cascade Dining Hall enjoying my breakfast looking out the window, when I saw a Blue Jay eating something in a tree. As I looked closer, I realized that it was another bird! I rushed outside to try to cause my system to become familiar with the new year a day make a map that shows near realtime satellite images of the built in python -m venv to create something out of the things that make the economic pie any bigger; they only figure out how to utilize Python asyncio, the httpx library, and the next day, we made our rest. Just as I started to film, the bird saw me and flew away with the carcass, dropping the decapitated head at my feet. You can view the pretty graphic picture here.

What a way to start the morning! Since I had never even heard of this before, I decided to do some research. The Blue Jay ( Cyanocitta cristata ) is actually a member of the Crow (Corvidae) family. All crows eat meat, some more than others. Although Blue Jays eat about 3 times as many casualties despite having twice as fast, you are stuck with Python’s bad parts: a runtime dependency, weak typing, etc. Javascript Javascript: No. All members of the crow family are know for their intelligence, thats why its so hard for Fluffy to kill them. You can read more about the Corvidae family on this fascinating website: http://science.jrank.org/pages/1886/Crows-Jays.html

Still don’t believe me? Check out this youtube video, the guy had better luck filming it than I did:

Bev
Thank you.. didn't know that.
Tom
This past week a Blue Jay pulled a well hidden Finch nest off of our porch. My wife found the dead babies on the ground. It was sad, as we had been watching them develop for weeks.
Teri
We've had decapitated sparrows in our yard for the past couple of days with today being the deadliest...a total of 7 dead in our yard. All missing heads!! Saw a Blue Jay eating the head off one like it was a tasty snack!! Also saw a Jay attack a sparrow mid air killing it then eating the the head!! So disgusting!!
Darb
Informative, educational, good craftsmanship. Craftsmanship
Somewhere in Boston
I just saw a blue jay attacking a sparrow. I thought it was a mother bird, at first, trying to return her baby to a nest, but it was a Jay. It flew away when I walked by then came back to retrieve the stunned sparrow from the sidewalk and fly off with it.
anonymous
Do they eat baby chicken, if not protected?
anonymous
I just saw a blue jay pull a baby sparrow out of nest, drop it repeatedly, and fly away with the carcass.
gaby
what is a blue jays predators but in sentences
anonymous
Where's the video?
anonymous
I really hate blue jays.
anonymous
Kill the bastard with a sling shot.
anonymous
Still better than Starlings. Those flying rats deserve to be cleansed.
anonymous
Today I saw a blue jay eat a snake....
anonymous
It doesn’t surprise me!
Gratis Spil
What a way to start the morning! Since I had never even heard of this before, I decided to do some research.
anonymous
I was completely shocked to witness this “murder” as I was sitting on my front porch peacefully drinking my coffee this morning. The other birds were going crazy as this blue jay had somebody in his mouth. I threw a magazine because I didn’t know what was going on but the magazine didn’t get anywhere near them just to break up the scene. He did fly away but came back and proceeded to peck away at it for a long while. When he finally flew away he left a decapitated little somebody. I felt I had a monster in my yard til I found this article which made me feel a little better. Everybody seems to be back to normal in the yard now. I just couldn’t believe it I never witnessed this before. I would have assumed it was a neighborhood cat if I found it later.
anonymous
We’ve found a few dead chipmunks in our yards past week. We believe Blue Jays are responsible. Perhaps not necessarily eaten, but from a fight over control of the bird feeders. Had no idea this would happen.
anonymous
Yeah, I just found out today. Was shocked! I saw a Blue Jay on top of a finch pecking extremely aggressively at it. There was blood all over the finch and it sounded alive, so I tried to scare the Blue Jay away and it just took the finch with it. I thought there might have been something wrong with the Blue Jay like a disease and then I read later that it’s normal and they help keep bird and insect populations down. Blue Jays are also preyed upon by hawks, owls, and falcons and a variety of land animals.
anonymous  in response to anonymous
They were trying to feed a cat
anonymous  in response to Damien Gallee
Haven’t you read any of these comments? They attack pretty frequently. And they don’t go for “abandoned nestlings”. In my yard they purposely wait for the parent birds to leave and then rip the baby birds out of the bird house and eat them. Even when the parents are there and try to protect the babies they put up a fight anyway. They are definitely bird bullies.
anonymous
they dont actually like to eat baby birds and bird eggs there just very territorial, my bluejay blue is actually mates with a wild cardinal that he found in the feeder outside
anonymous
I only discovered recently that Blue Jays are carnivores. I have had a mouse problem in my home. I started setting traps and catching plenty of mice. In the morning, I would collect up the dead rodents and put them outside under a tree in front of the house figuring they would become fertilizer. Instead I noticed they kept disappearing. By 11 am every day the mice were gone. I thought maybe a cat, possum or racoon but the latter two would not be out in the day. We had a snow storm and I put some mice on top of the snow. They too disappeared but there were no paw prints anywhere so I started thinking it was a bird. Possibly a Red Tail Hawk as we have them in the area. I finally set up a webcam to see what was going on. Low and behold, a Blue Jay swoops down in the morning and carries off the dead mice one at a time. It must be coming by every morning now looking for a meal because they consistently disappear before noon.
anonymous
Territorial carnivores! Blues raid and kill ALL other birds eggs and fledglings, even when the are a large, including raptors. At least here in Denver Metro, where there is plenty of seed, nut and fruit year round and in bird feeders. In almost 40 years of birdwatching, have seen them wait for the parent birds to fly for food only to come home to horror, even the Cooper and Red-Tail Hawk have been raided. They are a beautiful bird or humans would make this nasty, noisy, obnoxious bird extinct.
anonymous
They need a high protein diet, and winter can be very little resource. What do humans along the history has done when food became scarce?
anonymous
It calls 'eco system" . Don't we all eat meat as well? The blue jays is the number 1 prey of hawking, and I see all the time they getting attacked by predators at their next and they cry for a long time then their babies are taken. Its how things goes!! They has a need to eat meat, maybe because they are unable to get any other source of protein. Now, should they cook their meat, just like us human beings does? and if a animal that has need of meat and protein is called vicious we should all look at our own race and reflect about it. I eat meat, and I also do not like when the head is in my meal. has people that fish for fun, hunting for fun and hurt and abuse other humans also for fun. No other species more vicious then the human!!!
anonymous
If these are such a nuisance why are they freaking protected. They need to be fair game if they are being aggressive.
anonymous
These monsters killed at least three nestling in my backyard. Two Mocking birds and one small bird I don't know name. Hate this beautiful and highly intelligent bird.
anonymous
This morning when I stepped onto my back porch, there was a dead baby bird on the ground under the tree. It was still in the sack as if it had not yet hatched but there was no shell anywhere...a blue Jay just came down and took it!
anonymous
I just had a blue jay in my yard eat another bird. I came out in the morning to find a pile of feathers near the bird feeder. Checked my security cameras and lo and behold, a blue jay attacked a little yellow bird from behind, took it under the star jasmine plant and proceeded to eat it for quite some time. So for anyone who is incredulous about blue jays eating other birds, it does happen.
anonymous
I saw a Blue Jay carry a baby Cardinal out of its nest! He killed another one and the 3rd survived long enough to fledge later on. I don't know if it was able to keep growing and live on. Blue Jays are vicious!
anonymous  in response to Jim Young
Jim young blue Jay's are vicious they attack Cats, Squirrels, etc they are omnivores they hunt more then they can eat
anonymous
Jim young Blue Jays are vicious and attack cats, kill squirrels, etc
anonymous
Soooo blue jays will bite you right?
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Yeah, I wouldn't intentionally feed raw human grade chicken to a blue jay, though. Likely a Salmonella risk.
BTL Bear
I also did not know Blue Jays eat Meat. We have been watching a Carolina Wren Family for the last three weeks, today the remaining single chick jumped out of its nest. We saw the chick getting its footing not more that 3 minuets later a Blue Jay came and pulverized the little chick. By the time we got outside the Jay had taken the Chick and disappeared. Watching the chick and Mom/Dad over the last weeks we were hoping to see it actually grow up. It is heart breaking but also we understand the circle of life. Ironically the Father returned several times to feed the chick, with no where to find the offspring.
anonymous  in response to anonymous
If the doves are bullying the jays it is because the jays go to their nest and peck the babies in their head and push them out of the nest. We have a tree outside of our bathroom window and every year the doves make nests. We see the bloody heads of the baby doves after the blue jays kill them. It is sad but the doves will try again by putting a nest in another tree. They usually have to try two or three times to get their baby to live.
Luc  in response to talloak
Your deer hunters are ass holes. They're also criminals. Please report them to the wildlife protection agency.
Walter Solomon  in response to Cindy Barrow
Too bad you didn't get it on camera. A raven taking a kitten sounds amazing to witness.
Walter Solomon  in response to corners
After the Rocky Mountain locusts was driven to extinction in the 19th Century, there are no longer any locusts species in North America. Killing sparrows will not change that.
Ian Moone  in response to Cindy Barrow
I literally just watched a jay kill a chipmunk out my window. much like the bastard red squirel that certifies that any that come into my yard will be shot asap. screw the hippies saying kill nothing. vegans murder their food as well. it just has no way to express its pain. might as well eat a deaf mute. fuck vegans , hippies and judgemental hyper lefty pricks.
anonymous
Oops. Question answered in a post farther down. I'm sorry for the idiotcy.
anonymous
Can a Blue Jay catch anything as big as a squirrel?
Paul Paci
That's weird - I never had a problem with a blue jay and I feed many many birds, but maybe because I feed them a lot of peanuts and bird food so maybe they have no reason to do these things around here, I feed about 6 to 8 blue jays
anonymous
I found this and enjoy learning about Blue Jays. The reason I found it is that yesterday I had set out some raw chicken and dried cat food for a stray cat that looked quite unhealthy and malnourished. When I stepped outside to leave the food the cat ran off and about 20 minutes later I looked to see if the cat had eaten the food. I was amazed that a Blue Jay was eating the raw chicken. Thanks for everyone;s comments.
Francesco Zerilli  in response to anonymous
After three years, I finally had a pair of chickadees take up residence in a nesting box I had put on the side of my house which I constantly monitored thru my garden window. Finally the eggs hatched, the chicks grew and I watched as one by one they tentatively left the nest box. Early in the afternoon, I startled a blue jay that had it's head in the entrance hole and it flew away. I never gave it another thought until two days later when I went to clean out the box. Inside I found a remaining chick that was dead. It's eyes were pecked out by the blue jay. I have now put the blue jay on my hit list which includes the winged rat house sparrow. I shoot them on sight, every chance I get. Amazing how the numbers of gold finches that come to my bird feeders has increased including white crowned sparrows since I started eradicating the house sparrows.
OntarioUSAtty  in response to anonymous
I just interrupted a blue jay eating a house sparrow that has nested in our gutters. Killed it and was eating it, red beak dripping blood. So much for Arlene's "rarely" eat young house sparrows ...
anonymous  in response to Springerpanhead
"the list of creature that destroy and contribute nothing" You can add human beings to that list too, we destroy entire rainforests and cause the extinction of entire species.
anonymous  in response to Lakawak
Yes, man is part of nature, that is why it should also be our duty to protect our natural environment. Our detrimental actions have lead to the destruction of forests, flooding, saturated farmland and the extinction of thousands of species. You cannot argue that this is for the good of nature.
anonymous  in response to Cindy Barrow
Good old human beings... we invade and destroy the natural environment, then we start deciding what animals we want to live. Nature was doing just fine before we came along, why can't we just stop interfering?
anonymous  in response to talloak
So you'd rather see a deer hunted rather than a Titmouse?
anonymous
Bluejays are wild birds. They have a varied diet, consisting mostly of seeds, nuts, berries, insects, spiders, and crustaceans. But occasionally- and usually seasonally- as nature presents it, they will also consume meat from rodents, birds, or whatever small living thing they can overcome. That's the healthy varied diet that they've evolved to need in order to maintain their natural life-cycle. When you're a bluejay, living your life in the world, you've got to be opportunistic, and get your meals when and where you can. You all have the right to your opinions, but to me many of you just seem kind of dumb that you can't accept or understand these simple facts. Ranting and raving about it, or worse- striking out at it and intervening in any way is just not necessary. It will achieve no goal other than making you an even angrier person than you already are. If you look out your windows at nature long enough, you're probably going to see something you don't like. That's the point where you should turn away and let nature do it's thing. Why not just accept and admire the amazing beauty of it all from a safe distance? Relax, you're going to give yourself a heart attack! Live and let live. Respect nature- because as humans on top of the food chain, we're smart enough to make that decision and control ourselves. (Except for the kitten lady, that's a real bummer story. Hopefully some day you'll get over it, and forgive the bluejays for eating your kitten, because you'll eventually realize that it's just their simple nature, and their will to survive- not because they're being mean.)
Springerpanhead  in response to Cindy Barrow
Good thinking
Springerpanhead  in response to Cindy Barrow
You can add raccoons and snapping turtles to the list of creature that destroy and contribute nothing. Although coons do make nice hats
Springerpanhead  in response to corners
Evil prevails when good men do nothing. Having observed our leaders and lawmakers for over 7 decades I have come to the conclusion that most laws written by man are inherently flawed. Laws are black and white, and life comes in a thousand shades of grey. Most introduced bills are the result of knee jerk reaction to some event, or the result of someone or some groups persistent obsession, and are voted into law by people who have never even read them, and have little or no knowledge of the subject dealt with. The wide blanketing migratory bird law is no exception, and is in fact a prime example of legislators passing laws on a subject they don’t know squat about. I will defend what I love and care for with everything I have and to hades with idiotic legislation that does not take into account changing environmental conditions, or population balances. Woe to the Bluejay that harasses the Bluebirds, Buntings, or Tanagers. He’s gonna have a real bad day.
Fluffystuff  in response to Moses
calm down karkat
DeLise Palumbo
Eco brainwashing versus experience and common sense. Jays are beautiful and mean as heck. When I was a kid a couple of jays overhead dumped acorns on my head for as long as I sat there playing. When my kids were little the blue jays would swoop and dive attack our cat over and over again as long as and any time he was out there. They also attacked my KIDS. My daughter got a nasty gouge on the head from one of them when she was standing on the back porch. Live and let live I say... but when you attack me or my cat...or my KIDS it is curtains buddy. Today they steal the food from my bird feeder and howl at me outside when I am gardening... trying to scare me away from my own food. As long as they quit there they get to live..... :D I wonder what "work" Arlene does with blue jays? XD There is clearly no population shortage of blue jays. Ask anyone who grows fruit or nut trees. When will common sense become popular again?
Damien Gallee
This story is somewhat untrue. Blue Jays are not birds of prey per se. They do not seek out and KILL other birds, but they will, if food is very scarce, eat abandoned nestlings ( less than a few days old) and they will also peck away at small carcasses that were killed by other animals or natural causes. A Blue Jay's diet is basically nuts and seeds and rarely, insects.
Cindy Barrow  in response to JCPhotoMedia
I understand your point.But even though the blue jay is considered a part of forestation my feelings remain the same. My point is they are not the only important part of the "circle of life", and truthfully I would not miss them if they just moved along and terrorized someone else. I would like to add that I love wildlife and realize that is how it has been for hundreds of years but we can't get away from the fact that the world (including North America) is changing and becoming more populated. Not everyone, including some forest animals, will get along. Such is life..
JCPhotoMedia  in response to Cindy Barrow
[https://news.vice.com/artic...](https://news.vice.com/article/one-of-the-worlds-biggest-extinction-crises-is-being-caused-by-cats) They use scientific methods but the real points to consider are these. Are house cats of any variety native to North America? NO. If you saw your neighbor letting his dog go in and out of the house at will would that be ok? Probably not...but lets add that the dog is killing dear, raccoons, foxes, etc and leaving the carcasses on your doorstep or your neighbors would you be ok with that? Probably not. Even if we took the lowest numbers estimated they are awful when considering the cost on native wildlife from non-native species. The genocide of native species has longer reaching effects than the loss of that one species. The blue jay disparaged in this article for example is a key cog in forestation. [https://www.popsci.com/repe...](https://www.popsci.com/repelling-invaders)
Cindy Barrow  in response to JCPhotoMedia
You are right about cats eating birds, (I don't know if it is for no reason though). But I would love to meet the people who do the studies on the amount of song birds that are killed by cats. Do they sit with a checklist? I am being sincere.
JCPhotoMedia  in response to Lia Sargent
[https://news.vice.com/artic...](https://news.vice.com/article/one-of-the-worlds-biggest-extinction-crises-is-being-caused-by-cats) not just an US problem either...
JCPhotoMedia  in response to Lia Sargent
Cat's aren't native to north america anymore than rats or pigeons - two other animals that humans introduced are are responsible for eradicating tons of native species... Do a simple google search for actual data rather than anecdotal nonsense
JCPhotoMedia  in response to Cindy Barrow
are you saying you have never seen cats kill birds or other animals for no reason - the latest numbers say a billion per year song birds are killed by cats that are no native to north america...
Ashleigh  in response to Cindy Barrow
I feel for you with this story. It must have been a horrifying thing to witness. However, I don't understand the irrational hatred for these birds in particular. The mountains are filled with animals that regularly would attack small domestic pets (mountain lions, coyotes, foxes, owls etc). You live in a country where your national symbol of pride is a bird of prey. Bald eagles snatch kittens too. Yet Blue Jays and Ravens of all things are your 'least favourite animal on the planet'. Because... they sometimes eat meat? Sorry, it just doesn't make sense to me... to hate them, but give a pass to eagles, hawks and all the land based animals that would easily make snacks of domestic pets too, if given the chance. Maybe your hatred is just based on this personal experience, which is fine. But if you look at the bigger picture, animals and humans are just part of a larger food chain. Again, sorry for the loss of your kitten.
Ashleigh
I feed birds and squirrels. I have several Jays that come every day, all seasons, and for several years. They eat alongside all the other birds, from little sparrows and snowbirds to larger Cardinals and squirrels. I've never seen an issue of bullying or attacking. They're only after the nuts and seeds. So, does my personal experience trump yours? I've never heard (or read) of Jays preying on kittens 'for fun', so either you're exaggerating or it's a rare incident. Maybe you are just prone to irrationally hating species that aren't docile herbivores. Or maybe the Jays are just nicer in Canada, as are the people.
banshee  in response to Lakawak
Oy.
banshee  in response to DADDY BEAR7
Carnivores? Now everyone who kills someone else is Ed Gein?
banshee  in response to Cindy Barrow
She's crazy.
banshee  in response to Lakawak
I hate when people don't realize that man is as much a part of nature as any other animal.
banshee  in response to corners
Everywhere? Seriously, who's going to know?
banshee  in response to anonymous
Blue jays are beautiful, but they are nasty bastards.
Sam Spade  in response to ramy nieves
A great way to control scrub jays - they love peanuts in the shell. Cut a quarter inch long slice into the shell of the peanut, at the midpoint of the shell body and slide it onto the bait hook of a Victor brand rat trap. Place a drop of super glue where the shell meets the bait hook so the peanut is sure not to slide off. Set the trap near where you keep your pet birds so the jays are sure to see it. I actually learned this by accident as I was trying to get the rats on my property but the dang jays kept setting off my traps.
anonymous
If a Blue Jay kills a invasive "house sparrow" all the BETTER. They displace and kill many native song birds so maybe the Jay is just serving some pay back!
Jane Kenyon
People have a psychological habituation to feeding Jays. The Jays go from condo to condo and squawk loudly til the people come running with nuts to feed them. They are so overfed that their populations have grown to large numbers. I have become aware of them predating on all the songbird nestlings and fledglings in our area. They know exactly when the songbirds are repeatedly bringing bugs to their nestlings, and harrass the nestlings out of their cavity nests and eat them. Open nesters aren't successful either around the high population of Jays. Jays are part of the ecosystem, but our feeding them has enabled their populations to soar and defeat the nesting success of songbirds. I did gladly see the Ravens consume a nest of Jay nestlings too, but the Ravens 700% above normal populations now, are having their impacts on songbirds too, as I've seen them predate on Wilson and Yellow Warblers nests and others. They too watch and know when the nestlings are being fed, and swoop down on top of the nest and chow down. It would be so nice if humans could become aware of what their bird feeding habituation is causing. The Jays have plenty of food available to them in the summer. They don't need to be fed. They're omnivores, they eat plants, animals and birds. They can't eat all the food humans give them, so they bury it around the grounds, drawing in the rodents, the 2nd problem they cause. The Jays dominate our area and keep all the other wonderful birds out. Please people, become aware of your actions. Please stop feeding the Jays! Or if your psychological habituation is so great, then feed the Jays only in the winter, when the mammals are hibernating so we don't habituate the animals too to human food, and cause their populations to soar. Thankyou so much to whoever has this site about the reality of the Corvid family of Jays.
Jim Young
Yesterday we heard a noise in our backyard and went to investigate. A partridge (fully grown) was attempting to fly while a Blue Jay seemed to be attached to it's tail. They disappeared into the bush and the screaming (we couldn't determine if it was the blue jay or partridge or both) was terrifying. When my wife got to the edge of the bush she yelled at them and the screaming ceased. I went into the woods but could find nothing. I can understand a Blue Jay attacking a smaller bird but was quite surprised to witness this. Has anyone ever heard of a Blue Jay attacking a full grown partridge?
Cindy Barrow  in response to corners
Well, aren't you on a roll with your replies. lol Now are you sure you got everyone on this site that doesn't particularly like blue jays. I especially love your comment on the "man made" animals. How did you find out about our secret factory that mass produces domesticated pets-"just for us". Oh, that's right, you mentioned you have a Bengal cat, one of the biggest man made hybrid "pets" out there. Good job. :)
anonymous
Last summer, a robin used to sit atop a large evergreen tree in the evening and sing it's heart out for over 15-20 minutes. It was beautiful; I could have taped the singing. It seemed the whole neighborhood was quietly listening to this 'music'. This year, blue jays were in my yard, and I discovered this fully grown robin dead beside my garage. Need I say more?
corners  in response to anonymous
its illegal to kill blujays
corners  in response to Cindy Barrow
"the cycle of senseless killing?" Is it senseless? Because the nests that do survive with the parents that could fend off bluejays are better off now. As will their future offspring. There is a reason they say the strong survive and prey on the weak. The weak are generally sick or injured in the wild. People are naive if they think we can save every animal from being eaten in a non slaughter house way(because that's better, right?)
corners  in response to Cindy Barrow
" I don't believe that all creatures are necessary on this planet as they have evolved over thousands of years what they started out and were to begin with might have changed them enough to be something mean and aggressive, basically killing just to kil" Not even sure what this long rung on sentence is saying. Not too many things on this planet that just kill just to kill. Humans are definitely #1 at it.
corners  in response to ashley mcknight
"You ever watch a young bird get its brains pecked out by a blue jaydoesn't mean its okay and doesn't mean god intended it to be that way..." How else does a carnivore eat its food? Ever watch a lion eat its food? Heck, ever seen humans eat live seafood? People are so weak, its pitiful. Cant even stand nature anymore if it involves not all all of them surviving every day in harmony.
corners  in response to Cindy Barrow
"Since then they have tried to grab my little dog many times" Get a real animal..... or dont whine when nature takes your man made animals.
corners  in response to talloak
"Our deer hunters shoot BLue Jays as their screeches alert the deer to the hunters' presence" And a big boom doesnt when you shoot the blue jay? Do you really hunt?
corners  in response to Marilyn5555
"Bluejays have killed 4 squirrels in my yard in the past 3 weeks" Lol, you must have tiny squirrels. Chipmunk? Sure. My cat has a hard time killing squirrels, and hes a Bengal.
corners  in response to Neko Panthera-Uncia
"House Sparrows aka English are menaces themselves plus they are not native" You should go check out what happened when china targeted sparrows in their great cultural purge. Famine and locusts!
Philbert McNutt  in response to Eve Demian
I am a terrible and irresponsible person? How so? The jays were doing what jays do, the cat was just doing what cats do. How does that make me either terrible or irresponsible? Do you have something against how nature works?
Eve Demian  in response to disqus_qmsIeqRrJc
I'm repeating myself, here, but in address of different aspects of the equation. Blue jay babies need a great deal of calcium for bone growth. Therefore, one *wouldn't* find a lot of evidence of predation in the crops of the adult birds; they're *feeding* the calcium (bones of other birds; particularly the skull, which makes sense, as it is the most bone-dense portion of the skeleton of a bird) to their growing offspring. The six they found evidently had died before they had the opportunity to feed their young, or were still not adults, and were still being fed "growth" food.
Eve Demian  in response to Philbert McNutt
You are a terrible, and irresponsible person. Shame on you.
Eve Demian  in response to john fabrizio
Calcium supplements. They want the calcium. That's why they're killing the other birds; they're doing it for the calcium in the bones. I would think that if you have a feeding station, and want to discourage jays from attacking the other birds - - particularly when they're raising young, that need a great deal of calcium for their bone development - - you put out a source of calcium, and lots of it: ground bone, calcium supplement pills (the ones you take, that are like big pills of chalk), crushed eggshells, hard-boiled egg whites.
Eve Demian  in response to William Kunert
I'm just reading this blog, to verify something that occurred, this morning, with two baby pigeons on our fire-escape, one being entirely decapitated (head gone), and the other left dying. Years ago, when I was doing wildlife rehabilitation, and had my first two baby blue jays, the rehabilitation authority (world class) I was conferring with, for information, was busy on the day she dealt with my call about these two. She neglected to tell me something very important to know about blue jays. I raised the babies to fledgling status - - but they couldn't stand; they were crippled. I took them to that busy bird authority, and she took one look at them, had a fit, screamed at me, and then apologized, and admitted that it had been her fault for not telling me - - that, unlike other birds, blue jays need an extraordinary amount of *calcium*, for their bone formation. Reading, now, about the high instance of decapitations, I realize why they do this: because on the skeleton of a bird, the most *bone-dense* portion of the skeleton is the skull. That's like a "vitamin pill" for a blue jay.
Bencho Garay
i live in miami and these filthy blue jays r everywhere, all they do is squawk all day, they r without a doubt the most annoying birds on the planet!
Ashleigh  in response to Cindy Barrow
Notice I put the 'evil' in quotes (sarcasm) - because that's the way you are labelling the Blue Jay, who, by the way, is another one of 'God's Creatures' who also has every right to exist. I was trying to expose your hypocrisy, but I guess it went over your head. I have nothing against cats (even volunteered at a no-kill cat shelter for a time), but if it's a pet cat (and not a stray who eats to survive on the street), it should be kept indoors so it doesn't wreak havoc on the local small wildlife and bird population. Well fed house cats who wander outside kill for the fun of it. But because he has a cute name and a human owner, I guess his actions are ok to you, whereas a Blue Jay who eats to survive and protects its offspring is 'worthless' and should be eradicated from the planet. Great logic. lol. Honestly, Cindy, I do hope you're posting in jest and exaggerating your animal-hate here, because it's really kind of nuts to blame a species for being a carnivore, defending territory and protecting its nest. Incidentally, the Blue Jays sharp cries warns all the local birds in the area to take cover when it sees a hawk in the vicinity. I've witnessed this several times. It's instantaneous. Try not to see creatures as one-dimensional "good" vs "bad". Nature is cruel, yes, but every species has the right to fight for its survival, even birds of prey.
Cindy Barrow  in response to Ashleigh
What is it with you ashleigh? You defend a bird that is obviously a bully and put down another animal that millions of people love and protect in their homes. Who is a hypocrite? You can blab on about about a bird no one can share affection with and many who wish they would just stay away and put down one of :"Gods creatures" that also deserve to exist. You, my dear, seem to be the uneducated one who appears to have severe tunnel vision. Oh, and by the way I rarely eat meat,if I do it would be chicken. So why don't you just crawl up into a tree and live with the worthless bullies. You and the jays could maybe sit and have a intellectual discussion on world peace.
Ashleigh  in response to anonymous
Ok, well I have *also* personally seen Jays sitting together and eating with doves, Cardinals, house sparrows, chickadees, squirrels and chipmunks at my own feeder. Pretty much daily for the past two years, actually. Why is my experience less valid than yours?
Ashleigh  in response to talloak
This is because most hunters are too inept, unskilled and dumb to be able to hunt intelligently. Yeah, shoot everything that stands in your way and use modern weaponry to pop one off and kill. Then they claim to be heroes who 'harvest' from the forests. It's a pretty pathetic 'hunter' who has to shoot a bird in order to sneak up on a deer. It's also hilarious that you're judging a Blue Jay for being carnivores and predators and eating a nest of mice while championing hunters who prey on deer and eat them. See any difference? Whoops, I don't!
Ashleigh  in response to Cindy Barrow
Do you eat meat, Cindy? Or veal (ie. baby calf). Please stop being a hypocrite about what you deem 'evil' or 'unnecessary action'. The Blue Jays are probably defending their nest from your 'evil' cat, who gets a bowl at home but still enjoys killing for fun. Uneducated people like you who spout claims like "they do more damage than good in the animal kingdom" really do more damage than good for the human species. Please stay inside the bubble of your house, and out of nature. And take your cat with you.
Lakawak  in response to Jill Grant
IT DOES matter. You can't say one correct thing and then follow it up with a bunch of garbage and that say she is correct. Yes...we would still have TREES without blue jays! That is an absurd statement.
Cindy Barrow  in response to Jill Grant
Starving-are you kidding me? Just so you can be up to speed my judgmental dear, I happen to live in one of the most diverse vegetative areas in the Northern California mountains. We have hundreds of different types of foliage and trees, including many types of fruit trees, which in turn bring in all types of wildlife.When this disgusting bird did this, not that you knew this before you formed your sad opinion, it was the middle of summer with plenty of wildlife, fruit, nuts and seeds to be had. Oh, and the kitten had slipped out the door to my house and that it why I was right by it attempting to grab it and bring it back in. Oh, but you didn't know all this before you made your very narrow minded assumption. You mention intelligence enough so you must think you are, so then as a "intelligent" person you should know that it isn't very smart to make a statement without all the facts first. Correct?
Cindy Barrow  in response to Jill Grant
Jill everyone needs a defender and it is apparent the blue jays have you. While I have "educated" myself through studies of their species, ( hence, one of the reasons I came to be on this site), I also am a firm advocate of 'seeing is believing.' What I have witnessed through the years and most recently is a very aggressive, bullying behavior from the jays. I have to firmly disagree with your statement that they eat other fledglings and eggs of songbirds because they consider them a potential predator-pleeeeze!! Yes, they might attack your pets if they are nesting, a reasonable protective behavior. But eating their own kind, including babies is a cannabilistic and seemingly unnecessary action. All around I have come to the conclusion that they do more damage then good in the animal kingdom. Just one opinion but I'm sticking to it, you do the same.Good luck
Cindy Barrow  in response to anonymous
Sheila, would love to join you in the mission to stop the jays from terrorizing not only helpless fledglings but humans and their pets as well. "intelligent" or not they are what they are-bullies. To be fair I have tried to see the plus side of their existence through the years and have yet to find a good reason for it.
Jill Grant  in response to Jill Grant
Look up the word, "anthropomorphism". We put on other species those emotions or actions we humans have. They don't think as we do. They are in a different world. But, in our limited knowledge, we liken them to us. BIG mistake...
Jill Grant  in response to talloak
Depending on the type of Hawk, they'll eat much more than that...small dogs and as many cats as they can carry. I've watched it happen more than once, and I've seen raptors feed on some types prey, like your beloved Red Shouldered hawk who feeds mostly on songbirds. The "Crow family" as you put it, is actually the Corvid family, and the family that has the most intelligent of all bird species. Killing is not sport to most any species but man. It's a way of life. So, if you don't criticize your "magnificent raptors" for being who they are, be cautious to criticize other birds for being "bullies" - especially when you haven't educated yourself to know the benefits. In the end, the term "bully" pertains only to man, Irdlrd. The rest is Nature and a way of life and survival.
Jill Grant  in response to Cindy Barrow
Birds of a different species are "not their own kind" anymore than we humans who eat cow, lamb, pork...
Jill Grant  in response to Lakawak
Arlene was correct. It doesn't matter why, it just matters that they're protected. Corvids in general are a fascinating group of birds. With time and the need of them, you might turn your thoughts around.
Jill Grant  in response to Cindy Barrow
If you believe this about Jays and Ravens (I suppose Crows, another intelligent Corvid is included), and if you know they're nearby and likely starving, then why in heaven's name would you place a helpless kitten or a small dog outside as their targeted prey? Who's the vicious one in this story? It might be helpful to educate yourself, and to adjust your life to protect the helpless animals you've jeopardized. You just share their space that others see as their own. You're supposed to be more intelligent than they are, so best advice is, use it and adapt.
Jill Grant  in response to Lia Sargent
Vermin? Please define.
Jill Grant  in response to Cindy Barrow
Coyotes, cougars...what goes around in nature certainly comes around. Good luck Kitty! Daddy Bear7 is correct. Read up on real studies. Your observations are anecdotal, at best.
Jill Grant  in response to Cindy Barrow
Put a bell on your cat, and your problems will disappear. They're intruding into the nesting areas of Blue Jays. "Bullies" grab 22s.
Jill Grant  in response to Cindy Barrow
Your ignorance about this one species of birds is apparent. That's okay. No one knows everything about everything, but please educate yourself a little before grabbing your 22 to take out those "evil things" as you called them. If you only knew more, with this philosophy, you'd be shooting all wildlife from Bambi, squirrels, crows, woodpeckers to cats, dogs and humans. Opportunistic omnivores may prefer vegetation, nuts and seeds, but when an opportunity arises, they'll take it. Humans are more than opportunistic omnivores. They create situations so they can eat meat. Beyond that Blue Jays nesting are incredibly protective of their young, and they will call loudly if you invade their space. Just like good human parents. They may also eat the young of a bird that would be a potential predator, and eat recently deceased nestlings. Large studies have been done, and while you may have "seen" a Blue Jay eat a baby bird, (alive or dead due to other causes?), less that 1% of Blue Jays in studies contained any traces of other birds or mammals .Give them time, don't feed, and they'll go somewhere else. FYI - I once saw a squirrel eat a live bird. I also know that if necessary, deer will eat birds, rabbits, squirrels, etc. I've witnessed that too. And, those nasty wasps and hornets' nests around your home? Thank Blue Jays that you don't have a dozen more because they love to devour them.
Ardra Vanessa Spector
Today my tiny dog killed a baby blue jay in the back yard. I freaked out, my husband and I made him come inside. He dropped the dead body on the grass. I heard the birds screaming and they were circling. They took the body away! I never saw anything like this in my life. I thought the horrendous drama was over when I was sitting in my living room and I could see them diving at the back door. They are watching me eat my breakfast from other windows of the house. Stalking me! I'm afraid to go outside for real! What to do?
Debbie Wilkins  in response to DADDY BEAR7
I have a cat who is an indoor cat but likes to lay on my back stoop on nice days. She never leaves the stoop. I have 3 bird feeders within 10 feet of the stoop and never has the cat deterred the birds so I wouldn't say you are necessarily spouting the truth, Daddy Bear7.
Lia Sargent  in response to DADDY BEAR7
I live in the woods-nice neighbors and a well-behaved cat who is much loved. He loves to sun himself. All good except for the nasty blue jays.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to Lia Sargent
cats are the killers who often do it for sport just like some dumb humans that is why my two stay indoors!People that let their cats roam don't love the cat because if they did they would not let them possibly get run over or killed by a neighbor who is fed up with kitty.
Lia Sargent  in response to DADDY BEAR7
Cats have every right to feel the sun on their back and play in the grass in their yard. Blue jays are vicious Carnivors that kill smaller birds. They harass cats and people. They are vermin.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to Diane Genn Binford
Birds killing other birds is nature.Instead of watching jays on your security camera turn on the t.v. so you can watch on the news humans killing humans every night speaking of vicious carnivores.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to Diane Genn Binford
The grackles rule my area they just killed two mockingbird babies in the nest and last year they chased the blue jays away by killing their young.As far as the cat goes your right he is not scaring them off but only killing them.Dumb people who let their cats outside are responsible for tens of million of birds and other creatures getting killed in the u.s. according to the humane society.Before kitty litter was invented people had to let their cats out but now their is no reason except if you want to have your cat run over or killed by a neighbor.My two cats only go out on a leash.
Diane Genn Binford  in response to DADDY BEAR7
Actually the song birds are staying away because blue jays are vicious carnivors. I have had a pair in my yard for a few weeks now and they bully my dogs constantly. Today i came home to find a big smudge of blood in my drive. When i rolled back my security cameras i witnessed the jay savagely attack and kill a small song bird, pecking it to death. Trust me, it's not her cat scaring the other birds off.
Mmarple26
I'm glad you wrote this - just specifically looked this up after I witnessed this morning a crow murder the crap out of a songbird, while the blue jays danced around and squawked. After the poor thing was dead (there wasn't any time to react, that stupid Crow took it's head off before I could even get to the door) the jays and crow were pecking at its carcass. Lovely way to start the morning
William Kunert
I mowed our yard this afternoon and found 8 beheaded sparrows. This is the first year this has happened. We appear to have only 1 mating blue jays and I find it hard to believe they are causing all this carnage.There are a number of starling around the feeder. Any ideas?
DADDY BEAR7  in response to Cindy Barrow
Cats have no reason to be outdoors because they mess up the eco system.I had a neighbor who would shoot any cat that went on his property because of that it was sad to see all my neighbors missing cat photos plastered everywhere.
Cindy Barrow  in response to DADDY BEAR7
Well , think what you want about my "education" of nature, considering I have lived everywhere from the deep mountains to the coastal Old Redwood forests. Been there-seen that. Again my point is not whether they are hunters it is what they are "hunting" if that's what you call it.Also I am not saying they are the only scavenger out there-seagulls, ravens ect fall in this category as well. But the hawks that you claim only get small prey is not always true either, I have seen them pick up a rabbit as large as they are and fly off with it. I also know it is the"survival of the fittest": so on and so on Woah-wait a minute my cat just caught the blue jay that has been torturing and killing the baby songbirds and the cat for the past week-your right they do go after the weaker ones so they don't get hurt , and since cats are hunters they must fall into that category too. What goes around comes around I guess.
Cindy Barrow  in response to Marilyn5555
What, the cycle of senseless killing? Okay then.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to Cindy Barrow
It sounds like you have some unusual jays in your neck of the woods because i have never witnessed that kind of behavior but i have seen grackles peck sparrows to death again thats part of nature.They are such a smart species that i have seen jays falsely do a intruder alert call so they could have the feeder to themselves.And of course they are going to go after the weakest just like lions or wolves do because there is less chance of getting hurt.I guess you do not like the bald eagle either because they are a notorious scavenger.You have a lot to learn about nature because hawks and other hunters go after the weakest this is called survival of the fittest.
Cindy Barrow  in response to DADDY BEAR7
Sigh. Here is the thing, though I cannot deny humans have killed other humans I have actually never seen it happen but I have seen jays rip apart other birds and antagonize many different species of animals, including people, so...I know many animals are carnivorous but I have a problem watching blue jays eating their own kind when there are plenty of rodents they could go after. [I.ve](http://I.ve) been chasing one off for 2 days now that is greedily waiting for these beautiful songbird fledglings to fly out of the nest under our roof instead of spending the time hunting. My theory is that they are just lazy scavengers who would rather eat their own kind because they know they are helpless and weak, rather then work at it, (like the hawk and other hunters). If anyone else has a better theory why they are like this, I'd love to hear it. Thanks ****By the way you are correct about cats hunting birds, though some are just too domesticated and lazy to do it often. But I've witnessed jays attacking my cat AND my little dog when they were just laying out in the sun minding their own business. Face it-they are bullies
Cindy Barrow  in response to talloak
I was so glad to see someone else mention that Jays bring nothing to the table in the circle of life. Whether people like ton hear it or not some creatures really contribute nothing in their existence and are just destructive and are a nuisance to everything around them. Someone put them in the same catagory as a hawk except hawks keep to themselves except when their hungry and they don't go out of their way to bully other creatures. They are as far as I'm concerned-unnessesary.
Cindy Barrow  in response to ramy nieves
Same here and want to start shooting them as well. We should be able to protect our animals and the ones who need protecting
Cindy Barrow  in response to talloak
Jays and Ravens are my least favorite animals on the planet and finding out they are in the same family makes sooo much sense now.Last year I had a raven, (piece of shit) swoop down right in front of my and took my little kitten up to a pine tree where It proceeded to kill and eat it while it screamed for it's life. It is something I will never forget. Do you know they eat their eyes out first so they are blinded and basically eat them alive. Since then they have tried to grab my little dog many times. And these discusting evil things are protected by the law? What!??? I know a respectable doctor in town that went to jail and was fined heavily for killing a raven after it kept attacking his two small dogs for weeks. Mind blowing. Can't hurt the ravens, but oh, they can attack your domestic pet and/or kill or maim it? So stupid
DADDY BEAR7  in response to Cindy Barrow
CATS EAT BIRDS SOMETIMES YOU SAY?TRY 10SOF MILLIONS A TIME A YEAR ACCORDING TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY AND THEY ARE ONE OF A FEW SPECIES BESIDES HUMANS THAT WILL HUNT FOR PLEASURE AND NOT TO EAT.And yes animals eat other animals that is part of nature.I wonder if you find it disgusting that humans kill other humans or you just save that for the jays?l.o.l.
Cindy Barrow  in response to Fingel
That is true and just so weird. lol
Cindy Barrow  in response to ashley mcknight
Soooo agree with you and yes In just witnessed that today and many other times and have had enough. I don't believe that all creatures are necessary on this planet as they have evolved over thousands of years what they started out and were to begin with might have changed them enough to be something mean and aggressive, basically killing just to kill. There was a man in our area who raised domestic beautiful parakeets for years.Hundreds of them. When he died the parakeets escaped and over time, since he lived in a forested area bred with many other species of birds. Now we have thousands of these guys around, but the funny thing is some are sweet little songbirds while others seem aggressive and so on. My point is over time this could've been the blue jay who evolved to be intelligent but cannabalistic and aggressive, so unnesessary as far as I'm concerned in the circle of life.
Cindy Barrow  in response to DADDY BEAR7
Wow-not even relatable. But okay. Comparing humans to a obnoxious squawking bird made me laugh.Yes, cats eat birds once in awhile but it depends on the breed. I have a cat who is surrounded by all types of birds this time of the year and they show no fear of him, in fact sometimes they are the aggressors. Especially the bluejays and ravens! The blue jays are constantly attacking all the pretty songbirds and doves in the surrounding trees and are relentless about it. Just today I watched a fricken blue jay take a baby bird out of its nest, ate it then went after the parents. It's disgusting to me that they eat their own kind. You just don't see that a lot, especially when their is plenty of food for them in the area. So excuse me while I grab my 22 and go take out a few of those evil things to give the songbirds and my cat some peace.
anonymous
I have a single-family birdhouse a shack shaped birdhouse and a rowhouse birdhouse connected to my garage facing my backyard they all three have residence now, not to mention three or four birds nest in my trees in my backyard. There always in the backyard flying and frolicking around sometimes different type of birds are there but I know there's a family of the same birds that live in thses houses, I enjoy listening to the water in my pond and the birds sing when I sit outside on my deck with my two pit bulls out. I have a 6 foot white privacy fence kind of most people have. On my way to my garage I noticed there was no noise but there were 2 huge birds sitting on the fence so I looked at what they were looking at and to my surprise there was a Bluejay attacking and eating one of the birds that live in the birdhouse,the bluejay did not stop either, he kept banging away at this bird I was kind of taken back for minute, so I went back in the house and went on line and asked Siri to see if Blue Jays eat other birds and sure enough they do so for me it's survival of the fittest and nature taking it's course, sad to see you go little birdie should've flew a little faster.
DADDY BEAR7
Jays are wild animals and yes they sometimes eat baby birds and such that is how nature is it is not a childs fairytale with happy endings.What goes on in nature is no more barbaric then what humans do to each other including killing kids.
DADDY BEAR7
Your right i should not have said duh.As far as the birds staying away common sense tells you that having a cat outside which is their mortal enemy might be the reason for the birds disappearing and this pederson lady sounds like a real animal lover talking about shooting jays because she is annoyed.what a jerk.oh there i go getting rude again l.o.l.
Fingel
They are little dinosaurs after all
DADDY BEAR7  in response to john fabrizio
I guess these people are not happy with how god designed nature.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to anonymous
i am in n.y. and add to the list of birds that bully jays at the feeder the red bellied woodpecker.l.o.l.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to anonymous
nature is cruel.
DADDY BEAR7  in response to anonymous
cats have no reason to be outside they are killing machines that ruin the local wildlife.problem solved.oh it is illegal to shoot bluejays it is a federal crime.the reason the songbirds are staying away is because of the cats.duh.
john fabrizio
And if you put up a bird feeder that the Blue Jays can't feed off of but the other birds can. That means the blue jay will be more prone to eat the other birds and not the bird food because it can't get to it. If anything get like some beef jerky and put that with the bird feeder as well and then the Jays eat that instead of the other birds
john fabrizio
You guys crack me up how many of you eat meat. I mean there are thousands if not millions of animals killed every day to feed us and you're going to be mad about a little bird feeding itself. We are the worst animals on this planet we're the only ones that kill for sport
anonymous
thats a scrub jay not a blue jay
Lucky
That is western scrub jay and the bird maybe is dead already.
Philbert McNutt
Used to have a large, male, very athletic, silver point tabby. He caught blue jays on a regular basis. His routine was to break a wing, then use it as a toy until the jay got tired of playing, and died. Generally, the jay toy would start screeching, which would bring dozens of other jays to the big maple in our front yard. The noise would be incredible - like a scene from The Birds. The cat would crouch over his jay toy, one paw keeping in place, while the other jays dived bombed him. He would spring 6-8 feet in the air, trying to snag another. Great sport, except for the noise.
Lakawak  in response to Moses
shhhhhh.
Lakawak  in response to Julie Hanson
Man is PART of nature, idiot. The Empire State Building is just as natural as a bird's nest. And the Hoover Dam is just as natural as a beaver dam.,
Lakawak  in response to anonymous
Not only are you wrong in almost everything you said, but the one accurate thing you said was misleading. Yes...Bluejays are protected...but only because ALL non-game migratory birds are protected from being killed without a license. IT isn't as if bluejays have some special protection for them.
Lakawak
IT was pretty easy for a stray cat outside my place to kill last week. It swooped down to try to steal some cat food it was eating, and the cat nailed it. It's mate was none too happy about this and i had to hear this ALL DAY: [https://www.youtube.com/wat...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZn2rHqADfk)
disqus_qmsIeqRrJc
Of 530 stomachs examined, traces of bird eggs and nestlings were found in only 6 stomachs, although a search was specially made for every possible trace of bird remains. (I think this particular study was like 1900. I've seen different reports of five and six with traces of other birds.) This makes me wonder if it's more a "look. I'm HANGRY!" act, but being from crow family, who knows? They are who they are. They are credited with having a major impact on spreading oaks and such (you'll have to google or look on audobon, I can't pull it back up without losin this window) and are very beneficial. (To tress, the environment - NOT necessarily to your song birds!) Almost all my memories of my grandpa was him at the kitchen window with his gun, guarding his cardinals, knocking out every blue jay in the yard. I don't know if it was an unknown fact, even To Kill a Mockingbird takes its title from the line where he explains his first gun and being paid for killing Jay's. Regardless, it seems to be an uncommon occurrence from what science finds, though unsavory nonetheless. Nature often is. This morning I saw a jay and a cardinal working side by side foraging. So I had to google, is this the same bird grandpa loathed? And for me, this is the first time I've found results saying in fact that it's rather rare. If you love your cardinals like grandpa, I guess rare is too much anyway! :-)
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Blue Jays are gross, they are trying to kill all other birds and their song pierces through humans conciencess like a knife. Kill on sight.
Alice
Same here. I've lived in the city for the most of my life. And have NEVER heard of Blue-Jays killing/eating another bird. I've moved to the outskirts of the country-side this past 3 years. And today, just below my bedroom window seal, by the gutter, I witnessed one of the most horrifying actions of a Blue-Jay pecking a Starling/Robin bird's brains out, while still alive & struggling for it's life. It was SO HORRIBLE. If I knew there was any possibility to save the poor garden bird I would. But to distract the Blue-Jay, would only prolong the excruciating suffering of this poor garden bird. I couldn't do a thing but let nature takes it's course. I had to do a quick research here on the internet, find out how common this was, to my surprise, I'm shocked to the core. As a child, we often associated Blue-Jays with Canaries & Cardinals. I know there are crueler things in life, but I can't help shake this awful sight out of my mind. Sorry if you too, had to find out this way.
Alyssa
Hi, I watched as a Scrub Jay as they're being called below took a baby Chickadee right out of a Birdhouse I put up. Some things I did to protect the remaining babies: I hung a mirror behind the nest, which scares the blue jay as they come towards the house. I hung windchimes on the same tree I took the "perch" off the front of the house I narrowed the opening of the house by taping plastic over half of the opening. The chickadee parents let me do all of that without a peep from them, they returned and I saw they were able to get in the opening. Lastly, I hung food on another tree away from the babies to attract the Blue Jays and to give them an alternative food source. So far it's worked but I know the babies still have a lot of unprotected time ahead of them when they start to fledge the nest!
ramy nieves  in response to anonymous
I live in California and I am a hobby breeder of small songbirds. The scub blue jay eats young nestlings! They are voracious in the breeding season and I wish I could start shooting them . So far I have lost 3 adolescent grey singer finches and 1 adult male. The scub jays are now targeting my gouldians so Miss Pedersen I understand how you feel.
Springerpanhead  in response to talloak
Squirrels are rodents ( aka tree rats ) and are also omnivorous, baby birds when available are a standard part of a squirrels diet. The good news is they are not protected, and if cooked right, not too tough.
Neko Panthera-Uncia  in response to anonymous
House Sparrows aka English are menaces themselves plus they are not native. I just mentioned in a post how House Sparrows, Wrens gruesomely destroy others birds nests even if they have their own. At least the Wrens are native (and protected).
Neko Panthera-Uncia
Blue Jays are a very beautiful and intelligent bird but like anything else in nature nothing is perfect. From what I understand yes they do go for flesh but it's a lot less often than reported. Want birds to be mad at? How about English aka House Sparrows, House Wrens? I've looked into these little darlings, read up on how they destroy the nests of other birds particularly Bluebirds, Chickadees and Titmice, it'll be pretty gruesome. They steal occupied nesting sites and will destroy other nests even if they have their own! If the adult birds are in there as well they will kill them as well. Feeder bullies? How about Starlings, larger woodpeckers ie. Red Bellied, again English Sparrows, Grackles? I get Bluejays they can be dominant but take what they want and go. I have plenty of other birds that feed at my feeders. The worst cat harassers I've ever seen were Mockingbirds.
talloak  in response to anonymous
"Bullying" as an adjective is accurate. It has no moral connotation for me, just describes the behavior accurately. Also, you stated Squirrels are omnivores, like you claim, what meat do they eat?
talloak  in response to anonymous
whoa.
talloak  in response to anonymous
pellet guns and a good shot are the best, safest and most efficient way. The foxes can eat the dead Jays too. You don't want to kill all bird species which is pointless.
talloak  in response to anonymous
Blue Jays absolutely eat eggs and baby birds too. They are all in the carnivorous (predators) family of crows.
talloak  in response to anonymous
a pellet gun is fun.....
talloak  in response to anonymous
or a good pellet gun.
talloak  in response to anonymous
Blue Jays do no useful service unlike our wonderful Red-Tailed hawks and great raptors do-Hawks & eagles eat our pest mice, squirrels and rabbits. BLue Jays ONLY attack other songbirds and their eggs, MONOPOLIZE bird feeders, and kill baby songbirds. Get UPSIDE DOWN suet feeders only (as only woodpeckers and nuthatches have enough leg strength to feed upside down), get Eastern bluebird (don't confuse with Blue Jays !!) feeders only ( the entry holes are no larger than 1.5 inches so only small songbirds can enter and eat) and offer sunflower seeds IN THE SHELL only in a squirrel baffled feeder ( as Blue Jays have some difficulty cracking the shells open unlike Cardinals and finches easily can open)
talloak  in response to anonymous
you rock, Sheila. come on over to our 15 acres and shoot our BLue Jays too, please !
talloak  in response to anonymous
Blue Jays are bully birds and a member of the Crow family therefore They are PREDATORS- carnivores and omnivores who will eat anything- including helpless songbirds. At least our wonderful Red Tailed Hawks and magnificent raptors eat our vermin (squirrels, mice and rabbits)
talloak  in response to William556
Blue Jays are a member of the Crow family and are therefore omnivores and carnivores (predators). They are opportunistic eaters that will eat anything and bully most other birds.
talloak  in response to Ania Bialas-Butler
contrary to popular belief, birds have almost ZERO sense of smell- birds do not need a good sense of smell as they use SIGHT to defend themselves by flying away. Mammals need a good sense of smell as they are on the ground and cannot fly away. Think deer/ dogs/coyotes.
talloak  in response to Karma
Blue Jays are "Bully birds" and really do no useful service unlike our wonderful Red-Tailed hawks and great raptors do-Hawks & eagles eat our pest mice and rabbits. BLue Jays ONLY attack other songbirds and their eggs, MONOPOLIZE bird feeders, and kill baby songbirds.
talloak  in response to anonymous
Blue Jays are "BULLY birds" than control and monopolize bird feeders. They are a member of the Crow family that love to eat meat and are predators. Blue Jays do no useful service unlike our wonderful Red-Tailed hawks and great raptors do-Hawks & eagles eat our pest mice and rabbits. Blue Jays ONLY attack other songbirds and their eggs, MONOPOLIZE bird feeders, and kill baby songbirds. Get UPSIDE DOWN suet feeders only (as only woodpeckers and nuthatches have enough leg strength to feed upside down), get Eastern bluebird (don't confuse with Blue Jays !!) feeders only ( the entry holes are no larger than 1.5 inches so only small songbirds can enter and eat) and offer sunflower seeds IN THE SHELL only in a squirrel baffled feeder ( as Blue Jays have some difficulty cracking the shells open unlike Cardinals and finches easily can open)
talloak  in response to Julie Hanson
However, Blue Jays are "Bully birds" and really do no useful service unlike our wonderful Red-Tailed hawks and great raptors do-Hawks & eagles eat our pest mice and rabbits. BLue Jays ONLY attack other songbirds and their eggs, MONOPOLIZE bird feeders, and kill baby songbirds. Get UPSIDE DOWN suet feeders only (as only woodpeckers and nuthatches have enough leg strength to feed upside down), get Eastern bluebird (don't confuse with Blue Jays !!) feeders only ( the entry holes are no larger than 1.5 inches so only small songbirds can enter and eat) and offer sunflower seeds IN THE SHELL only in a squirrel baffled feeder ( as Blue Jays have some difficulty cracking the shells open unlike Cardinals and finches easily can open)
talloak  in response to Marilyn5555
correct, Blue Jays are a member of the Crow family of birds that are absolutely carnivorous and are predators....I have seen many Jays attack and eat a Titmouse nest full of babies, tore them to shreds...there was nothing innocent about JAYS !! Our deer hunters shoot BLue Jays as their screeches alert the deer to the hunters' presence. They rarely miss, fortunately.
talloak  in response to anonymous
Arlene, educate yourself first. English House sparrows and Blue Jays (bully birds) are a member of the Crow family of birds that love meat. I have seen them eat baby robins, baby chickadees, ect. If you allow BLue Jays at your bird feeders, soon you will have no other birds left as JAYS MONOPOLIZE feeders and bully other species. To discourage Jays, buy Eastern Bluebird feeders only ( the holes are too small for large Jays to enter and feed) Hang UPSIDE DOWN SUET feeders only ( only woodpeckers and nuthatches are strong enough to feed upside down) and offer sunflower seeds in THE SHELL ONLY (jays have more difficulty cracking the shell open unlike cardinals and finches). Our deer hunters do shoot Blue Jays as they alert the deer to the hunters' presence.
Karma
Many of you on here are complaining about the brutality of blue jays, and while I get the uneasy feeling of seeing a chick get its head pecked off, or the anger at knowing a jay is attacking helpless songbirds, I must ask you all: HOW are they different from wolves or coyotes or hawks? They're all meat eating predators, and I've heard of incidents where coyotes have trapped deer in the snow and massacred them....hawks eating the cute little helpless baby birds...I don't know why it's different for blue jays. Maybe because we're so used to portraying them as beautiful, dainty creatures, so it's a shock when that portrayal is shattered? Huh. Remember, Yellowstone lost all of its wolves after people started crying "Murderers!" and "Evil Deer Killers!" Packs had to be relocated and monitored for decades before the wolf population came back and the elk population lowered. (Guess what all those grass eating animals did to the environment.)
anonymous
My cat brought me a baby mouse this morning, it was still partially alive, I put it in my yard because I didn't want him eating it. About an hour later I see a blue jay in the same spot where I put the mouse. Then it picks it up and starts eating it in a bush. Then as I got closer it grabbed the rest of it and flew off with it. I had no idea they are other animals until today.
anonymous
I'm seeing the word "bullied" being ascribed to a creature who does not live by the moral codes we are displacing onto it. This is no different than a human eating meat. A bird does not bully another bird. A bird acts on its instincts in order to do its part for the ecosystem, and to stay alive. Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, chickens, humming birds, etc., are omnivores. Stop trying to make animals out to be good or evil. It is silly. Almost as silly as commenting on a post that is over 4 years old.
Marilyn5555  in response to ashley mcknight
You ALREADY have
ashley mcknight  in response to Marilyn5555
I Will not entertain your idiocracy...you have the day you deserve...karma can deal on that
Marilyn5555  in response to ashley mcknight
I'm wondering...................who pecked YOUR brains out
ashley mcknight  in response to Marilyn5555
You ever watch a young bird get its brains pecked out by a blue jay...there are things in this world that happen everyday that are cruel...doesn't mean its okay and doesn't mean god intended it to be that way...
ashley mcknight  in response to anonymous
This comment is not true blue jays are the bullies of the bird feeder....had to save a Young sparrow today from blue jay decapitation...this happens more often than you care to admit!U
Marilyn5555  in response to anonymous
This is the way God created the cycle...I'm pretty sure He doesn't need you or anybody else to second-guess Him. Who ever told you life was FAIR? Get a grip
anonymous  in response to Marilyn5555
Yes they are! Two years now, I noticed blue jays attacking and killing the babies in my yard. I would not have believed it if I did not see it for myself. I was taking pictures yesterday of a baby and it's mom feeding it. Today it is gone and I noticed a blue jay near by. I have seen the blue jays kill and yes, they are beautiful. But somehow I feel as though I should be protecting the babies in my yard. The mommies are not able to fight off blue jays and I do not feel that is fair. They are predators and I feel there should be a way to keep them from our yards without harming them. Is there some sort of repellent or something that can be use to keep them away? If not, why can't someone come up with something to protect our nests and young ones? We put a man on the moon and replace hearts, so why can't we figure this one out?
anonymous
Just bought a blue Jay killing this sparrow chick. I was too late. The two parents were trying to defend it.
anonymous
I always admired the beauty of jays until yesterday. I understand nature, but...It was so sad to see a Jay bludgeon a fledgling in the head while it tried so hard to escape it's grip. Mom of fledging tried to stop jay, but she couldnt. I yelled at jay, so it flew away. I checked the fledgling bird, he was sitting their still alive with a bleeding head injury. I tried to put him in a box to at least die in peach or recover. He flew away under my car. I came out to check on it later, and the jay finished the job, pile of feathers, a beak and a leg were left in a pile nearby. I know this is nature, but I work hard all winter feeding birds, and to have to watch them being eaten alive is just disheartening.
Marilyn5555  in response to anonymous
You're the one who needs to get educated. Blue jays are PREDATORS. When you see other birds going after them in a "mob" that's the way they defend themselves, homes, and babies. I've worked with Operation Wild Life for MANY years rehabbing injured and orphaned wildlife. This is NOT defaming, these are the FACTS. ANYtime birds see birds-of-prey in their area, it's their instinct to chase them and fend them off. Don't know what kind of "working with jays" you're doing, but if you're taking a wild animal into captivity....that's illegal. If you've been "working with jays over 8 years" you haven't learned much. Bluejays have killed 4 squirrels in my yard in the past 3 weeks.
Julie Hanson  in response to anonymous
Maybe try keeping your cat inside at a sunny spot and see if the birds come back to your cherry tree. I have blue jays in my yard, but I also still have small song birds that stick around even when a blue jay is around. I wonder if the smaller birds are staying away because there is a cat.
Julie Hanson  in response to Anon A. Moose
If you are killing Jays to Control loss of doves, you would also have to kill hawks and other raptor type birds (illegal to do so, as is killing jays) that include doves in their diet and that would otherwise also include snakes and mice. Interference by man is a downfall for nature in its own ability to keep things in balance. A sudden Overpopulation of Mice???--- Undoubtedly a Predator is absent and most likely due to interference by humans having killed off the predator. (jays also eat mice...not to mention tent caterpillars and insects that humans don't want around) I have a birdhouse with nesting black-capped chickadees about to fledge. They may or may not become a part of a blue jay's diet. While I may be saddened by the loss should any be eaten, It is not up to me to decide, but instead, it should be up to the ways of Nature. Although Jays will eat birds occasionally, most of a Jay's diet is made up of insects and nuts.
Ania Bialas-Butler
I just caught a blue Jay stealing a baby bird out of a bird house and dropped it when it saw me. The baby bird was ok so I grabbed a glove and put the baby back in the birdhouse.The mom came back and had food in her mouth. She went into the birdhouse so I think all is ok.
Anon A. Moose  in response to anonymous
I just watched a Blue Jay kill and try to eat 2 Ringneck Dove chicks about the size of a tennis ball. I noticed one chick was on the ground under the nest. When I got there, the 2nd chick still alive fell at my feet, not 5 ft. away. Immediately a Blue Jay dropped down from the canopy and pecked it in the head a few times before it noticed I was standing so close. The 2nd chick promptly died and had some of its guts pulled out its back between the wings. Upon closer inspection, the 1st chick's head was a bloody mess and the meat was almost picked clean, the only thing that remained was a skull. From now on, all Blue Jays are getting the business end of a shotgun. I don't feed birds and put up nesting boxes to lure them in to be slaughtered by Jays. Blue Jays have now joined the ranks of House Sparrows and European Starlings.
WVSky Diver
I watched a Bluejay steal the last of 4 baby Purple Finches out of a nest this morning. We had enjoyed watching the mother hatch the babies right outside our window. The really odd thing is that the babies were almost ready to fledge. They were fairly large babies with flight feathers. I was surprised to see a Bluejay take birds that relatively large.
jmtc
Didn't know it myself until today (April 2015). I have seen Blue Jays, other birds and squirrels feeding on the ground at the same time but had never seen the Jays attacking the other birds. That is until today: I looked out the window and saw that the Jay had a small bird (probably a sparrow, possibly a chickadee) that was trying unsuccessfully to get free and the Jay was pecking and feathers were blowing in the wind. After a few more pecks, the Jay flew off into a nearby tree with the dead bird in its beak.
Jen  in response to anonymous
Wrong. There are no scrub jays in Massachusetts and they are really quite distinct from blue jays. I saw a blue jay pecking at a vole on my front step this morning. They do indeed eat meat!
Cheryl Marinko  in response to anonymous
Ha! A Blue Jay just finished killing off four hatchlings and driving off their Song Sparrow parents in my back yard. If the Blue Jay is being "bullied" by other birds, I suspect it's because the other birds know what they are capable of. I love all birds, and would never harm any, but the truth is that Blue Jays ARE carnivores!
dill  in response to anonymous
You should let nature take its course next time it's how the world works your dog that's in the yard that you give kibbles and bits too would be hunting down field mice and more too if you didn't feed it animals are not all cute and cuddly
Moses
I'VE SEEN THE LARGER BLUE JAYS FIND AND DINE ON ALMOST ANY UNGUARDED NEST WITH NESTLINGS. BUT, HEY, NOT EVER BEFORE HAVE I SEEN WHAT I SAW TODAY! A NEST IN THE TALL BRUSH "HAD" A BLUE JAY NEST WITH 3 EGGS I'VE BEEN WATCHING AND WAITING TO HATCH. I HAPPENED TO SEE THIS MORNING A PARTIAL EGG SHELL ON THE GROUND UNDER THE NEST. 1 BIRD DUTIFULLY SITTING ON THE NEST. ABOUT 4 HOURS LATER, I HEARD A RUCKUS NEARBY AT THE BLUE JAY'S. WHAT APPEARED AS A LOVER'S SPAT, TURNED OUT TO BE ONE EATING THE JUST HATCHED NESTLING. THE 2, THEN 3 BIRDS WERE FIGHTING OVER THE DEAD BABY-JAYS BODY...AND RAN TO GET MY CAMERA..MISTAKE-THAT SCARED 'EM OFF. BACK AT THE NEST 3-4 MINUTES LATER, 2 EGGS GONE, ONE EGG LEFT AND 2 'ADULTS' YAKKING BOUNCING FROM BRANCH TO BRANCH. USED UP MY BATTERY FILMING [VIDEO] THE CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE. IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS, I RETURNED AND THE SMALLISH PLAIN-JANE-JAY WAS DINING ON THE REMNANTS OF HER LAST EGGS CARCASS. I BROKE THE LAW I GUESS AS I SHIVERED AN THREW ROCKS AT HER AND BEANED HER GOOD [MAYBE DEAD] BUT THEN HER BODY DISAPPEARED--PROBABLY BY HER LOVER? I'M ANGRY LIKE NOT FELT BEFORE BY WATCHING THE NATURE'S WAY'....and i'm now 60 yrs o.d.
William556
A couple of days ago I saw a Blue Jay pecking on the corpse of Nuthatch lying in the gutter. I don't know if the Jay killed that bird or just found it dead. I have also seen Blue Jays around dead snakes. One of them was clearly picking at the wound caused by a lawnmower. When the Jay saw me, it picked up the snake and flew away with it, closely followed by two other Jays.
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Hopefully the jay got the other one too!
anonymous
I hate bluejays! I saw one attack a baby bird in its nest, throw it to the ground and kill it by pecking it viciously and ripping it apart with its beak. I was too late to save it. My neighbor has a tree that had several cardinal nests in it. One day, I saw 5 or 6 blue jays swooping into the tree, making this God awful, maniacal cry as they did. The parent cardinals tried to protect their nests but couldn't. I was so upset, I bought a pellet gun that weekend. Of course, it's the kind that won't kill them -- just scare them off. I just can't watch that happen again. I've read they will eat other bird's eggs out of the nest then lay their own eggs in the nest that they just decimated, leaving those birds to raise their young, adding insult to injury! I feed the squirrels in my backyard peanuts and the blue jays try to steal them. They stalk the squirrels and rush them to try to get the squirrels to drop their peanuts. Now I stand out there and fend off the blue jays. Sometimes I wish I could set up a rat trap or an electric shocker on my feeders that would only go off if a blue jay got on them. I really hate those murdering, thieving, lazy, gang members of the bird family.
anonymous
A wren had built her nest under the eve of our front porch and hatched two babies.Earlier we heard her making a loud commotion and looked out to see a blue jay attacking her nest while she tried to fend him off in vain. long story short, the jay flew off with one of the chicks in his beak with momma in hot pursuit.
anonymous
Thanks for this information. I didn't realize they were carnivores. It explains so much really. I always knew they were extremely territorial, but didn't know the rest.They seem very fearless too. Years ago,I saw one dive bomb my St. Bernard. He was just walking around the yard minding his own business.The attack really caught him off guard. He didn't know what to do:-( I guess he walked too close to the nest.
anonymous  in response to anonymous
You're sick. Plenty of animals will eat peanuts, including small children. Please don't do something so stupid.
anonymous  in response to anonymous
The term "blue jay" is a general term and includes Stellar's jay and scrub jays. [http://www.pacificwildlife....](http://www.pacificwildlife.org/info/Online%20Docs/fmbtaList.pdf)
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Amen to that!! Doves are so docile, I've personally seen jays ATTACK the doves at my feeder. Sparrows are so small, they can't defend themselves against these big bullies. I love all animals, insects (just about) and nature, but it sickens me to see poor innocent birds being eaten alive!!!!
anonymous  in response to anonymous
I'm thinking of soaking whole(unshelled)peanuts in some kind of pesticide or something similar and letting them dry. Small song birds won't go after them. Jays LOVE them!
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Exactly, the posted bird in question is known as a scrub jay. From the western U.S. Although I also grew up calling them blue jays. They are disgusting, evil and oh so smart! The Stella jays in the mountains are not so mean. They are the ones that have the crested heads.
anonymous
I have a white cat that likes to sun bath in our frontyard, a bluejay and his mate have been yelling at my cat for about 3 weeks, I have a large cherry tree in my front yard that usually has a lot of bird in in, is now with no birds. I hate these birds and do not know how to get rid or them... I borrowed my sons air soft gun and am prepared to shoot the dame things...I have tried staying outside with my cat, and have stayed by the front door to scare the birds away but it does not work, they even go into the garage to yell at my cat.. I know I am going to shoot those dame birds.... Does anyone know how to get rid of them... Please help I am not into killing another animal..
anonymous
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anonymous
I too just found your blog after just watching in shock as a scrub jay went after a mouse I had released on a hillside. Nuts! Great blog, too. "I wonder what it had for lunch, maybe some berries or something." Guess again!
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Nothing a steady aim and a baseball bat can't take care of.
anonymous  in response to anonymous
Arlene, trust me, the only time you'll see jays being harassed is when they get too close to another species' nest. They are being fought off, not "bullied".
anonymous
I am appalled. I just stumbled across a jay beating the f*ck out of a sparrow in my yard. It was like watching a knife murder. STAB STAB STAB! unfortunately I scared the jay away, now the sparrow is slowly dying out there, breathing really hard while it bleeds to death. This means the hungry jay, who did not come back, is going to hunt down another one. I hope I never see this happen again. It is and was horrible. I typed in "blue jay carnivore", that's how I stumbled on your site.
anonymous
On Sat. May 28th 2011 I watched a blue jay attack and fly off with a CHIPMUNK from beneath my birdfeeder. The following morning, what I assume was the same jay, attacked and tried to kill a chipping sparrow from beneath the feeder. I chased off the jay and retrieved the sparrow from the lawn as it had burrowed into the high grass. Its head was featherless and bleeding behind the base of the beak and appeared more shocked then injured. After holding the sparrow for a few minutes it flew off. In my 45 years of birdwatching I had never witnesses such a agressive carnivorus behavior by a blue jay. I now know that it is not such an unusual trait in the species.
anonymous
Blue Jays are protected by federal law. It's illegal to poison, kill or otherwise harm them. Blue Jays rarely eat young house sparrows..They are important to our ecosystem in that that reforest barren areas. We have Blue Jays (and other Jays) to thank for our trees, and, therefore the very air we breathe. I've been working with Jays for over 8 years and can honestly say I see the Jays being bullied by other birds...notably Doves, Cardinals, Mockingbirds and even house sparrows. Please take the time to know the animals so many of you are defaming and killing.
anonymous
A blue jay attacked a nest with four young birds today. Grabbed one and flew away. The others scattered to the four winds. Mom and dad bird flying around frantically. I has pretty mad at the jay.
anonymous
Two weekends ago, on Saturday of the MLK weekend i took my dogs to the backyard to do their business when something caught my eye in the trees beyond my deck. It was a red tail hawk who was eating something. I grabbed my binoculars to check out what was going on and saw that the unfortunate creature was a gray squirrel. A hawk eating a squirrel, not so disturbing. I kept coming back to the kitchen door to see what was going on and in one of those occasions i saw blue jays picking at the carcass. I was shocked, as i had no idea that they eat meat! I have lots of feeders in my backyard and deck and all types of birds come to visit many times a day, included the jays but i guess now knowing that they are in the crow family and are actually omnivores makes me look at them differently, not in a bad way though. It is just nature.
anonymous
sometimes rat poisons are never effective against rats so i use a mousetrap instead '
anonymous
these blue jays want you to post more
anonymous
rat poisons are chemical based that is also dangerous to your pets"'~
anonymous
interesting commento n the blue jays
anonymous
i am looking for an organic rat poison coz i do not want to use synthetic ones.`*
anonymous
It is NOT true that Blue Jays don't kill song birds!!! I had the awesome experience watching 7 baby House Wrens leave the nesting bird house Aug. 9th, 2010 in my back yard. It was the most thrilling brush with nature I have ever had.....until a Blue Jay attacked and killed one of the baby birds, moments after all the little ones left the bird house and flew into a near by pine tree. There was lots of chatter with all the baby wrens as well as both male and female wrens. I climbed the slide next to our swimming pool to view how the little ones were all in the tree with parents. I was more than shocked to see the Blue Jay holding the little wren down with it's feet and proceeding to kill it. I shouted at the Bastard Blue Jay and clapped my hands........away he flew with the little wren. Don't tell me that Blue Jays don't eat song birds. Perhaps he came back later in the day to kill 3 more because there are only 3 left in my back yard the rest of this week being fed by their parents. I guess I may soon purchase a BB/Pellet Gun and look for blue and white in my back yard. To read about the jays, is one thing, but to see it with my own eyes, was the worst! Hopefully I will see a pile of Blue Jay feathers and know that it was pay back with the hawks in our area. Better check your facts Jack, written on July 17th, 2010. Just call me Annie Oakley with Blue Jays in the site of my gun... Sheila
anonymous
Greetings! Happy to find your site. I would like to point out a couple things though: What you're seeing here is a **Scrub Jay**, has others have already pointed out. Scrub Jays and Blue Jays are not the same bird, nor do they have the same habits, markings, or diets, although it is very easy to confuse the two. Scrub Jays are not even actual members of the Jay family, they only got the name because of their superficial similarity of appearence to the Blue Jay. Scrub Jays are, as you noted, members of the crow family, and yes they are very aggressive, but even they are not straight-out carnivores. They are omnivores just like you, me, bears, and racoons, etc. That's just a fancy way of saying they eat anything. Scrub Jays range all across the US and Canada, although they are more common in the west, especially the northwest (Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Northern Cali, and here in Oregon), they are significantly larger than all members of the Jay family, both sexes lack any sort of crest like a Jay, and they also lack the white banding markings common to Blue Jays. Blue Jays do NOT eat the meat of birds and mammals. Yes, they WILL eat the eggs of other birds if they cannot find enough food, but they prefer seeds, seedlings (watch your gardens!), berries and small fruits, and insects (they are great for mosquito control!). In my 28 years of caring for, and watching wild birds I have found that Blue Jays get along great wih other song birds, especially doves and robins. They can get a little aggressive in a food shortage, but that is typical of any species. Blue Jays DO hate mice, and may attack them on sight, noone knows why. Hey, natural pest control! Scub Jays, on the other hand, will attempt to DOMINATE any territory they set up shop in. I'm currently having difficulty with a family of them myself. They will run off all other birds, attack squirrels, dive bomb your cat, make alot of racket at 4 AM, and be a general nuisance, and yes, they will attempt to kill anything that doesn't comply with their territorial demands, even YOU. There are only four ways to get rid of Scrub Jays, and no way is 100% effective. 1: Attract as many Hummingbirds as possible to your yard. The two species hate each other and Hummingbirds will not hesitate to attack Scrub Jays (and crows!) especially if they can get a buddy to help. However, it goes both ways, so only employ this method if you are prepared for a full-out war to take place in your backyard and you are willing to deal with the casualties. This method is both difficult and costly, however. It is always difficult to attract large numbers of Hummingbirds, especially since thier numbers are dropping due to our stupidity, and it is a time-consuming method. Remember, you CANNOT allow Hummingbird food (or sugar water) to remain in your feeder for longer than two days, one day in very hot weather. AND, you must throughly clean your feeders EACH time you refill them. Why? because the slightest bit of mold build-up will kill your little friends when they drink. The black mold causes their tongues to swell to the point that they cannot feed, and Hummingbirds must feed several times a day to live. Repeated exposure will cause the tongue to swell to the point of cutting off their airway, which in a Hummingbird leads to guaranteed death in around 40 seconds. Most people either don't know, or don't bother with keeping their feeders clean, and this mold can form in less than 48 hours after sun exposure to the food. The whole time you think your doing a nice thing for your feathered friends, you maybe killing them instead. 2: Remove ALL sources of food from your yard. Scrub Jays are lazy birds and will only set up shop in places where they is a ready supply of seed, nuts, insects, or small animals. Remove all birdseed, squrriel food, spray for outdoor insects, and try to convince your neighbors to do the same until the Scrubs have moved on to greener pastures. 3: Soak birdseed, sunflower seeds, and peanuts in a solution made from mouse/rat poison. Get some DECON mouse poison from your local supermarket or home improvement store. Mix four tablespoons of it into 12 ounces of water. Mix well and allow to dissolve as much as possible, leaving it overnight if you must. Make multiple 12 ounce batches if you wish. Pour into a large bowel, mix in seed and peanuts and allow to soak overnight. Drain the next day and allow seed to dry on a layer of papertowels. When seed/peanuts are all dry, dump em in a plastic bowl or whatever and place outside on your porch table or anywhere else Scrub Jays like to feed in your yard. Repeat as required. In a few days, you'll have dead Scrubs. WARNING: Be mindful of other wildlife when employing this method. 4: 'Ye Olde BB/Pellet Gun. Best used in combination with peanuts as bait. In the country I find a scoped Ruger 10/22 works best. More range and greater accuracy. although I HATE to kill things, sometimes you gotta. Happy Bird Watching!
anonymous
I just found your site after googling "blue jays eat mice". Had to research since I was sitting on my deck wondering what this Blue Jay kept diving at and pecking at in my yard. Then I realized it was a field mouse! Poor thing was running around trying to get away...the Jay was trying to peck it to death! It flew off and left the mouse half dead. :(
anonymous
blue jays are mean.. ive been attacked while running before
anonymous
I hate Blue Jays...very mean. And now I have two of them attacking my cat and squaking all day. I have been squirting them with the hose on full force but that only works momentarily so, tonight my son-in-law is bringing over the BB gun...YES! I would put poison out but don't want to hurt the other birds. My poor cat has to stay on the back porch today because I would rather hear him meow than to hear those dang Blue Jays squawk all day!!
anonymous
I never knew blue jays were cannibals until today. I'm a teacher and had a group of 8th grade students outside for class this morning when two of the girls started screaming. When I discovered what they were upset over, I witnessed a blue jay on top of an adult sparrow pecking it to death. When I tried to scare the blue jay away, it picked up the sparrow, flew into a tree right above my students, ripped the head off the sparrow, and gobbled it down. It then dropped the remainder of the body of the sparrow right into the area the students were sitting. If I didn't know better, I'd say that bird was possessed or something - it was so purposeful! Thanks for posting this - very informative.
anonymous
I saw the SAME thing happen yesterday and decided to look it up on the internet! A bluejay decapitated a small dove and ate the head!! It was so morbid!
anonymous
today at work, as i was smokeing outside, under a birds nest, two deheaded baby birds fell out of there nest. i looked up to see a blue jay popping out of the nest, and sat there looking at me. as soon as i went back inside, the blue jay flew down and picked up one the dead birds and flew off, alil while later the blue jay came back and killed a third bird. nasty lil suckers
anonymous
Yep they are Scrub (stellar) Jays. Ya gotta get tuff and shoot all you see as you will have no other birds around just their excessive unnerving squaking. They even ran off all my Robins which I love to have around. The only amazing thing I saw concerning a natural approach to ridding them was one afternoon I was sitting outside and saw a Scrub Jay diving and flying like he was scared to death,,, what was after him? A Hummingbird!!! It was so manuverable and so fast it just kept jabing the Jay with it's pointy beak. That Jay did not come back all day. It was the coolest thing. I was standing and rooting for this tiny beauty. So, the moral is,,, encourage as many as possible Hummingbirds and you will run those rottem suckers away. Sign me pissed off in Oregon.
anonymous
This past Saturday, I heard this bang against my window and looked out to see a poor bird on the ground and to my suprise a scrub jay attacking and killing it to eat. It flew away with the bird in its mouth. Like others on this site, I was shocked and had no idea. Not five minutes later I heard another bang against the window and looked out to see a bird crippled on the floor. I went to check 5 minutes later and it was gone. I'm convinced the jay was tricking these birds to run into the window so that it could eat them. I had to look it up on the web and I think this site confirms it. Tricky savage little guys...
anonymous
that bird in the video isn't a bluejay at all! ...its a scrub jay =D could you describe the bird you saw eating the other bird because scrub jays lack teh black and white bands on their feathers that blue jays have.
anonymous
How do i get rid of the Blue Jays, anyway besides a pellet gun? Because mine needs a new seal and Would rather put somethin poisonous that only a BlueJay will eat. The bastards have found out I feed alot of birds and there was like 6 of them out there yesterday. I have doves and little song birds that come all the time but when the BJ's come only the doves sometimes stay. If they kill any of my little ones it will be WAR. My friend told me that they find food source and guard it.
anonymous
I just saw this, too. My story is a lot like an earlier one. I'm sitting on my couch looking out the window and a finch bangs into the window and falls onto the porch, stunned. Within ten seconds, a scrub jay is down on top of the finch, kills it and then takes the carcass and flies away with it. I never knew they did that.
anonymous
I had a dream about carnivorous blue jays. So I looked it up, and lo and behold...they are.
anonymous
I just come on to this site to find out about the attack I just witnessed. Two scrubs were making a racket but another sound came through. They were after a baby sparrow! The sparrow got into some of my thick ferns but the jays have been back looking for it. I fear the worst for the baby and I think the parents have given up hope. There has been no sign of their search.
anonymous
I had no idea that blue jays were carnivores! I watched this morning as a robin and a mockingbird were both attacking a blue jay -usually it's each other. I then saw the blue jay fly off with what appeared to be a baby bird in it's beak! I will never view them the same again!
anonymous
June 2nd, 2009 -- I was pulling up in front of my parents home and saw a group of birds in the street. Mostly sparrows, but there was one Cardinal and one Blue Jay. The Blue Jay was picking up and tossing around a sparrow (that was still alive) I tried to scare away the birds to try to help the little one that was getting beat up by the Blue Jay but the Blue Jay picked it up and flew off with it! I couldn't believe my eyes!! My mom loves the birds and has a bird feeder on her front porch....I told her any my dad what happened and they couldn't believe it either! None of us thought that a Blue Jay would do that! Thanks for the info....I never knew they were carnivores!!
anonymous
Thanks for sharing this information. I just watched with horror as a scrub jay attacked an adult sparrow right outside my apartment building (San Francisco Bay Area, California). It kept holding the sparrow down and jabbing at it with its beak. Feathers were flying, and another sparrow was hopping around nearby, apparently hoping it could do something to save the prey. The scrub jay eventually flew off with the sparrow in its beak. I couldn't believe my eyes. Thanks for the confirmation that scrub jays eat other birds.
anonymous
I found your site today when I witnessed my own "Wild Kingdom" moment. I never knew this about blue jays. We have a bird feeder at work for our assortment of finches, and I arrived at work early this morning to have a little quiet moment watching the finches while sipping my coffee. A finch flew into the mirrored window of the office, and when I went to investigate the noise, I saw him struggling to get up from the ground when a blue jay swooped down on it and began to rip it apart. I didn't react quick enough, because At first I thought the jay was trying to rescue the little bird, but then, after watching the little bird struggle to get away, the jay picked it up in it's beak and flew to the tree in the parking lot. I went to look at the the crime scene and there was a huge puddle of blood, along with guts from the still-alive finch. ugh! Then, after that, the jay kept attacking the finches that tried to eat at the feeder. I always knew they were violent aggressive birds, but I didn't know they were carnivores. Thanks for your information, I'm glad I found your site.
anonymous
I just got baby chicks and a blue jay flew into the pen. I was so shocked. It looked like he was after the chicks. Has anyone ever seen something like this? And is there anything that will keep them away.
anonymous
I have feeders with finches, sparrows, pigeons, doves, etc. This morning I witnessed my first scrub jay killing a sparrow. I knew they robbed eggs but did not know they would kill and eat other birds!!
anonymous
Thanks for this post-- I watched a jay do this yesterday- had a small sparrow on the deck, ripping it apart, and then picked it up and flew off with it. Seemed very viscious- I never heard of this! Now they are looking like big bullies in our daily feeder mix of Doves, jays, blackbirds, sparrows and finches.
anonymous
It is a Scrub Jay. In the West we have Scrub Jays (and Steller's Jays) but not Blue Jays. But I do not know about Jays being hard for cats to catch. My Sammy has caught 4 birds all of them were Scrub Jays. I knew they ate eggs and baby birds but I had not thought of them being capable of killing adult birds. On the other hand the jays are great sentries and often warn the little birds of of an incoming threat.
anonymous
i read that they all type of things
anonymous
Interesting to know.
anonymous
Thanks for writing this.
anonymous
I feed birds and have do so for a couple years, and yesterday sitting and watching them out the window I seen a Blue Jay get one of the finches and kill it. I could not believe it.Then the Blue Jay took the dead little bird and fly into my cedar tree out side my window. I dont know why he did that I have never seen a Blue Jay do such a thing, it shocked me.
anonymous
I have sparrow boxes on my deck and I have twice witnessed a blue jay stealing baby sparrows and eating them. I realize it's all part of nature but was shocked anyway.
anonymous
eeugh, picture of decapitated bird head.
anonymous
The nice thing about killing bluejays is that when you shoot one off the fence others keep comming to see why joe dropped dead and to bitch. Soon you will have a pile of dead bluejays, a dozen easy, and use a BB or pelet gun.
anonymous
Even though that bird is blue, it does not mean that it's a blue jay. That does not look like a blue jay to me. Nice job capturing video footage though.
anonymous
I have seen a Blue Jay eating dead chipmunks in the road on 4-5 occasions for about 3 weeks now...I thought it was just one rogue meat eater!!! I always knew they were nasty little suckers, but had no idea they were carnivores!!!
anonymous
I saw one catch a small mouse or a vole in my flower garden, drop it and come back a minute later and fly off.
anonymous
Its only a matter of time before they get the taste for human flesh.
anonymous
snow white and the seven dwarves will never be the same for me...