Since October I have had a feeding place for the birds in the garden. There are many birds of prey here on the edge of the village. where the most dangerous I think is the resident female Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). In any case, it is clear to the rest of the birds that it is best not to meet her.
But yesterday someone completely different staged himself. That really made me speechless. Every now and then Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius) hang around the feeding place. One of the three Jays came back in the afternoon, which happens quite often. The bird was sitting on the fence opposite the bird house; a little further away a Great Tit (Parus major). Both looked at the feeding place.
The Jay was not unknown to the birds at the feeding ground, but there was never any stress around. I think that explains the innocence of the little birds.
It continued with the fact that a Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) came out of the neighbour’s bird house. The Tit landed on the grass in our garden with a sunflower seed. The Great Tit has flown into the aviary and the Jay onto the lawn. The Jay landed on the Blue Tit and grabbed it. I thought I wasn’t looking right. The Tit was completely flat under the Jays weight and has still stretched her wing. Then the Jay flew away.
I was actually convinced that only small birds (nestlings) would be captured during the breeding season. I had also seen him feeding on a mouse in freezing winter temperatures. But I had never seen it eat adult songbirds when they behave stupidly enough.
Usually the Jay rarely comes within shooting range. This time, however, it shows itself from a short distance in winter feeding conditions. In our latitudes it is the most colorful raven bird. Usually it is a cautious fellow who is only occasionally seen up close. You can hear his voice instead quite often, and his “rattling” convincingly tells us his relationship to the real crows (Corvinae). The jays (Garrulinae) are generally more colorful and varied in color. The non-ornithologist will be surprised that both groups are included in the songbirds. And yet the jay is not untalented as a singer and can even imitate other species of birds.
When it comes to food choices, jays are quite versatile and do not shy away from eating young birds and clutches in spring and summer. In autumn and winter, on the other hand, berries, nuts and seeds are preferred.
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