Just found out that this little bitch bird is killing all the other small birds that lived for years on the trees next to our house.
I noticed lately that the usual birds sounds are gone for the past three weeks, it appears this fucker is killing them
Assuming it’s some subspecies of Eurasian Jay, I’m a bit surprised it’s killing adult birds of any size. Nestlings and eggs, oh definitely, but it’s really not designed for anything larger.
RSPB (in the UK) have it as “Mainly acorns, nuts, seeds and insects, but also eats nestlings of other birds and small mammals.” (going on to mention mice to explain “small mammal”)
Now, the smaller birds know its after their nests, and may have decided to leave, but you might want to check for other causes, e.g. a cat moved in or you’ve entered a season where the birds don’t show themselves (e.g. moulting or just too hot). Also, if the jay is killing the adults, I’d expect a lot of debris left around as they won’t be swallowing them whole.
It appears to be an Eurasian Jay.
Are you sure, it doesn’t look like the one in the links.
It has a weird strong looking beak, and it’s not a small size bird.
Also how to make it stop killing other small singing birds.
I mean you kinda just gotta let nature take it’s course. We can’t play god all the time. Birds gonna kill other birds 🤷♂️
Man those singing birds have been living on those trees for more than 20 years, this fucker came and start killing them and now (aside from no more bird singing) i have noticed also some strange bugs on my windows small flies and mosquitoes (dont know if its related)
This bitch bird is an occupier - i think.
I think they’re right, if you scroll down to the photo of the G. g. atricapillus subspecies it looks very similar, and it’s local to your area.
Corvids like jays will just eat nestlings (along with many other small things like bugs and mice), they have to eat and feed their own young as well. There’s not really anything that can or should be done to stop them; the songbirds will be back, they’ll come back for whatever attracted them in the first place.
He killed this little prince that lives on our lemon tree.
I do hate him
He occupied their home (they lived there for 20 years) but also killed them 😢
Everyday i see his shadows on the those trees, he claims that area now. I hate it
Its not his home, i want to kick it out.
Idk but mind giving a general idea where you are?
I am from Levant aka greater Syria
G. g. atricapillus is a near exact match (was in the wiki article linked)
AJAB.
Nah, I back the blue jays.
Animals don’t have malice. They’re doing what they are supposed to do. It isn’t always what we want them to do, but they have been here far longer than us.
What would they say if they were to judge humans for what we do? 🤔
I had a Coopers Hawk that would now and then snag one of the invasive sparrows, but one day one of my beloved jays was its meal. By the time the jay or I knew what happened, it was too late to change anything. The hawk did its thing and took it away. I was sad for my jay, but the world needs hawks just as much.
We get animals all the time that people try to “save” from predators. They prolong the death of the prey and starve the predator. It invested a lot of vital energy into a hunt, only to be robbed by a human, who is almost completely removed from the natural world.
Well, I didn’t intend to make this comment a whole thing, and it certainly isn’t directed at who I’m replying to, more just a peeve when encountering people that don’t empathize with predatory animals.
Sorry anon! I was writing this comment as a joke and literally hoping you wouldn’t be in this thread! I know your love for your local blue jays!
Lol this is why I generally avoid other people’s animal posts 😅
I came to just leave the first line, but after putting in so many hours working with all kinds of unloved and misunderstood animals, it’s hard not to take some things personally or not to see some the things people see as funny in the same way. I don’t want to spoil people’s jokes and fun, so I generally stay away, but I got irked at OP coming to the bird sub to hate on a bird and talk about hitting it with rocks. We just had the game commission drop off another animal abuse case to us right before our fun event, so it’s hard to have a day working where you don’t see terrible stuff done by people that are worse than anything one animal will do to another.
I could tell your comment was tongue in cheek, but I didn’t get the vibe from OP. As I said, I get their disappointment if this bird did hurt their bird friends, it happens to me too, and I don’t know how this type of jay behaves. I know our bluejays get an unearned reputation as violent and annoying birds, but it is not true. But even if it is in OP’s case, that is nature. There’s plenty out there that would hurt that jay and its family, likely some of those same songbirds.
I’m going to stop now since I’m just getting myself worked up, but other than asking what type of bird it was, this feels in poor taste for what I’d consider a pro bird community.
Maybe you misunderstood me, i would never go and hunt a bird down, but this fucker appeared from no where. and all the birds living in our trees for 20 years are now gone because of him.
What exactly do you want me to do, they (little singing birds) became part of our daily lives, and all of the sudden they are gone.
My upstairs neighbor told me that this bird was killing the small birds (RIP the black yellow prince who lived in our lemon tree)
I always try to provide safe environment for the birds, i chase away cats all the time, so yes i want to chase him away.
Fuck him, Its not his natural habitat, its the home of the singing birds for two decades.
I understand you are upset your backyard friends were hurt, potentially by the jay. As I said, I empathize greatly with that, as I’ve watched the deaths of some of my own backyard friends to other animals. It’s very reasonable to be upset that it happened, but you just seem a bit more angry than is reasonable. That I don’t like, because I have to work with cases where people do act on that anger, and with this being my introduction to you, it did not make a good impression.
Do Eurasian jays not have an equal right to exist as the birds you chose to love? If it did indeed harm them, it was not out of malice, it is just what jays are sometimes meant to do. You don’t have to enjoy that part of them, but from reading about them, they eat more insects, eggs, and sometimes even birds during the early half of the year, and then become peaceful nut and seed gatherers in the second half. That’s how they ensure their survival. That jay is someone else’s favorite bird, just as the one that sadly was killed this time was yours. Eventually that jay will become someone else’s meal as well.
If you want to deter him from living near you, that is your prerogative to try, if you are abiding by your local laws at least in doing so. Or since the damage is already done, you could learn more about this bird who has also found your yard to be a lovely and safe place now too. It is a corvid, like crows, ravens, and other jays. They are highly intelligent for birds, have great vocal abilities, and will do many quirky and entertaining things. Many birds will chase off or kill other birds and their eggs/babies. They are still little dinosaurs. If you dislike all birds that do that, you will likely have very few left to enjoy.
Cats are one thing, as they are not natural. There should not be so many of them, they should not be everywhere, and they should not be killing even a fraction of the birds they do. They are a human made problem. But a family of jays is 100% natural. Being mad at it is like being mad at the ocean after a flood.
It is not your fault this happened. You have provided a safe and wonderful space for your birds. They have given you years of joy. You will always have wonderful thoughts of those birds. But this is one of the normal outcomes for a wild animal. I like bunnies and mice and squirrels and other fuzzy little guys. But I also like birds of prey. There is conflict. There are winners and losers. But it’s temporary and all part of the way life works. Do mourn your animal friends, but this is your second day being upset about it. And coming to a bird friendly forum to trash a bird doesn’t feel like the right space to publicly reflect on that anger as you come to terms with it. I don’t know what offmychest type communities we have for example, but something like that might be more appropriate. But a space like this is going to have people like me that are going to be a little less sympathetic when we’re reading insults and hostilities directed at a living creature. I’ve got no ill will toward you, but I’m going to be concerned when I read someone getting mad at one specific animal.
What you wrote makes sense, i am not hostile to any bird. it feels like this bird invaded my house but in reality -as you mentioned- that is not the case, first because animals don’t abide to human norms and secondly he liked the trees.
Anyway RIP little prince
Image search says little prince was some type of sunbird perhaps? They do look very beautiful and wiki says there are around 150 species of them.
I will have to read more about them. They all look very beautiful. I’m curious to hear their song later when I get a chance. It says people consider it not pleasant, but since I like raptor noises, I may enjoy it 😄
RIP to your little one, and I hope its relatives soon return to your lemon tree. It did say they were also pollinators, after all. They sound like pretty territorial birds themselves, so they may still reclaim the yard. ❤️
I ran the photo through Merlin and it said maybe Eurasian Jay? Maybe?
i’m guessing a Eurasian Jay from a subspecies that has a black crown & also is photographed from above? (there seems to be more than 1 & i don’t know this species well enough to get closer on the subspecies…)
did I win???
Not sure its the same species, but how do i make it stop killing small native birds.
I feel your pain
bird probably has a nest nearby and is hyper aggressive until the little ones fledge
i think you just got to wait it out
when i had Blue Jays (the American kind) nest in my yard i just wore a special hat with lots of metal on it to keep them from hitting me on the head but the smaller birds could take care of themselves because they’re more maneuverable-- i think your smaller birds will come back when the Jays finish
See if you can get it relocated
How, should i throw some harmless stones at it?
Learn the bird sounds
