Yep, they are cannibals. They will readily eat eggs and baby birds. A lot of people like them, but I think they are the equivalent of the school yard bully.

This is correct. Blue Jays are nest-robbers. They are also known for imitating hawks in an effort to flush all of the songbirds and take whatever the flushed birds had been eating.

To add to this, they are just plain rotten birds. I changed my mind about them after witnessing them repeatedly killing and eating robins' babies. I just wish there was something I could've done.

This post was edited by surya55 on Fri, Dec 13, 13 at 14:36

We get groups of 6-10 in our Central Illinois yard. They are mean and chase all the other birds away. I did witness one years ago with a baby mouse in its mouth, so I guess they do have some redeeming qualities.

Like the others said, the jay is an omnivore and does not think twice about eating other birds and eggs. It's common for all the members of the Jay family.

Next time, if you can stomach it, try to get a video. The link shows a scrub jay eating a duck egg.

Gulls are pretty much the same.

Here is a link that might be useful: scrub jay eating egg

So everyone here is vegetarian?

I like Bluejays. I know nature can be hard to watch. sometimes......but she knows what she's doing........which is more than I can say for alot of humans. :/

starlinka said:
"So everyone here is vegetarian?"

Good point. We humans (most of us, anyway) have the luxury of not having to kill an animal to get our next meal. All the slaughter happens outside our vision and we just pick up the sanitized product, neatly packaged, in the supermarket.

I like Blue Jays too. They're fun to watch and are devoted to their young. I once had a Blue Jay in my yard that went through the whole winter calling for the missing family member (hawk kill). I've seen another Blue Jay frantically jumping around an injured jay.

Nature can seem to be cruel, but there are so many different perspectives that it's hard to decide which side to take. The robin that lost its fledgling? Or the jay that needs to feed its own brood?

Claire

Good post, Claire.