Bad Rap

Birdfeeder Bad Boy

Like most, I am charmed by the Blue Jay's color and size. It's the second largest and second most colorful bird at our feeder. This Blue Jay has been visiting at about 6:40 am. He or she (male and female look the same) was even polite for a moment when waiting for another bird to finish at the suet feeder.

My kids both learned a lot about birds in their preschool class. They have often repeated one message to me whenever they see a Blue Jay. "Mom, you know they eat baby birds. They're mean." 

While they usually make their presence known with a signature call that isn't exactly pretty, when I became acquainted with this courteous Blue Jay I began to wonder if they deserve the bad rap. With a little research I found out. The answer is yes. Blue Jays are related to Crows and both eat meat, like other bird meat. Yikes!

Who knows, maybe the suet in this Blue Jay's belly saved some other little bird's life!