Adjam5 Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 If I did not see it with my own 2 eyes...I would have never believed it. Sunday evening... Again...outside my son Joe's bedroom window. He calls me...Dad! Look at this! A baby sparrow fell out of one of the birdhouses in the back yard and right into the garden. A large Blue Jay was pecking at the little flapping bird until it was flapping no more. It found the right way to pick it up and off it went with the hatchling in its beak. " Death by fang or claw, is a much more violent one, than the one the hunters arrow bestows" Fred Bear So true...I actually felt bad for the sparrow. Natural selection at work. Does anyone else know of Blue Jays being carnivorous? I anticipate Tominator shedding some light here:D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 We have both Stellar Jays and Gray Jays here and they will eat anything! The only thing that chases them away from a gut pile is a Magpie, Raven or Eagle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardwood_HD Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 yea i have watched the same exact thing, baby bird fell out of a nest and a bluejay pecked it to death.. i hate blue jays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I had a blue jay coming up on the porch and eating dry dog food. A couple days later I found a lot of blue jay feathers behind my shed. Looks like the cats took advantage!! I haven't seen them eat other birds though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I saw it once when I was in high school. Mother nature is ruthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Does not surprise me, but I have never seen that of a blue jay first hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 yes, i've seen them and other jays. in fact, most birds will do the same. the jay had babies to feed, too. chickens, pheasants, turkeys.... and most other birds will eat opportunity food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aksheephuntress Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 ...Yeah, those birds seem to get pretty cutthroat.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrea Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Yep, they eat anything. If they can get to the eggs, they'll crack them open and eat them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pendog Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 This site says that even deer will eat birds. Brids have it pretty bad everything seems to want to eat them, they must taste like chicken;) [email=http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/news/press/ontape.htm]http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/news/press/ontape.htm[/email] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pendog Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 This site i found claims deer also like the taste of birds, they must taste like cool lush clover i guess. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/news/press/ontape.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyman Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Isn't it funny that, as a species, we'll kill other animals as we see fit, but question it in others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Like I said before not really all that surprising. Blue Jays eat bugs, small rodents and small birds make sense. This site i found claims deer also like the taste of birds, they must taste like cool lush clover i guess. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/news/press/ontape.htm There is a series of pics at jesseshunting of a doe chewing on a rabbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I belive it. Blue Jays are most irritating. They always seem to find me on stand. They can make a ruckus for a long time it seems.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I think outside of raptors and crows, bluejays are the most aggressive birds I see here in the yard. They seem to always leave the feeder when the woodpeckers show up. Beak respect I guess:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Natural selection at work. Does anyone else know of Blue Jays being carnivorous? I anticipate Tominator shedding some light here:D. At your service. Jays are in the Corvidae family along with crows, ravens and magpies, so yep, Jays will eat just about anything. Actually, your jay was doing all of us a favor if it was eating a house sparrow. House sparrows are not indigenous to North America and displace other cavity nesters like wrens, woodpeckers and bluebirds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Jays are in the Corvidae family along with crows, ravens and magpies, so yep, Jays will eat just about anything. When I first moved to the north country I shot a 3 point. After I gutted the deer I sat down and waited for the others. It amazed me how fast Mother Nature discovered my gut pile. The first to arrive and pick at the gut pile were the blue jays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted June 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 At your service. Jays are in the Corvidae family along with crows, ravens and magpies, so yep, Jays will eat just about anything. Actually, your jay was doing all of us a favor if it was eating a house sparrow. House sparrows are not indigenous to North America and displace other cavity nesters like wrens, woodpeckers and bluebirds. Yes, it was a house sparrow that met its fate. That is interesting... Corvidae huh? I knew I came to the right place. Thanks Teach! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohiobucks Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Yes, it was a house sparrow that met its fate. That is interesting... Corvidae huh? I knew I came to the right place. Thanks Teach! Google "Blue Jay info" and you'd be heading down the same path that Mr. Tominator went down to answer your question and personally took credit for...... :D Blue jays are omnivorous. They feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, insects, mice, frogs, and will rob other nests for small songbirds and bird eggs. To eat nuts, blue jays hold them with their feet and then crack the shell with their bill. Blue jays in captivity have been known to fashion tools in order to get at foods. Blue jays will also steal foods from other birds by frightening them into dropping what they have. They cache foods, such as seeds, for later use. (Reilly 1968) as copied from: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cyanocitta_cristata.html If it is bad for a house sparrow to steal a nest, why is it OK for a blue jay to eat small nesting birds or unhatched eggs? Or scare other birds into dropping the food they worked so hard for? Sounds like a big bird bully if you ask me.... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 devil bird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Google "Blue Jay info" and you'd be heading down the same path that Mr. Tominator went down to answer your question and personally took credit for...... :D Slander me all you want DB, at least I got you to google something. And for the record, I actually knew corvidae, only because they suffer from west nile more than other birds. Just another little nugget that stuck in my brain oh so many years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted June 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 If it is bad for a house sparrow to steal a nest, why is it OK for a blue jay to eat small nesting birds or unhatched eggs? Or scare other birds into dropping the food they worked so hard for? Sounds like a big bird bully if you ask me.... :D Sounds like natural selection at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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