Re: [SBB] Western Scrub Jay Kills and Eats House Finch at Feeder

[Chuq Von Rospach <[[email protected]]>]

On Jan 5, 2006, at 3:08 PM, Nancy Teater wrote:

> Should we be judgmental about jays? My guess is he was pretty  
> hungry with the bad weather and got lucky (for him). I save my  
> disgust for starlings, though I wouldn't be happy if one of my two  
> resident jays went after "my" finches.

My neighborhood has been ground zero for a turf war between the jays  
and the mockingbirds for years. the Jays pushed back the mockingbirds  
a couple of blocks a few years ago, and now, are missing completely  
again. But while it was happening, it wasn't pretty (or quiet).

but the reality is, this is part of the fact of life. jays are  
aggressive birds, and there's little difference between their egg  
stealing and grabbing a finch at the feeder, except we see the finch.  
And there's little difference between a jay doing it and a merlin or  
a coopers hawk, except we like raptors...

it's all part of nature, and nature's not always, well, Disney. We  
don't have to encourage it, but we can't prevent them from being what  
they are in nature. it's not a zoo.

down this road lies all sorts of interesting philosophical arguments  
(do birds that adapt very well to our ecological modifications  
deserve praise or disdain? why are house sparrows (mostly) cute and  
pigeons a pest? size?).

I find the Jay fascinating, because of it's innate intelligence --  
but then bird intelligence has intrigued me for years, and scientists  
are just starting to realize the avian brain isn't as simple as they  
thought (living with one, it's no surprise to me). For me, the bird I  
wouldn't mind making disappear is the cowbird -- the Jay, at least,  
is very family oriented and very protective of its domain and kin....



-- 
Chuq Von Rospach, Architech
[[email protected]] -- http://chuqui.typepad.com/

Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't  
fallen asleep yet.



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