[va-richmond-general] Strange bird behavior

Yesterday I saw something from our kitchen window that was very strange to me. 
There was a small dark bird eating sunflower seeds at a hopper feeder. It's 
rump was pointed at me so it was hard to tell what it was. I was just going to 
get my binocs for a better look when a Blue Jay came out of who knows where and 
grabbed the small bird in its beak, then carried it to the deck rail about 8 
feet away. Feathers were flying everywhere. But the jay then dropped the bird 
and it flew up into a nearby tree. Later in the day I was walking on our 
walkway and the same little bird flew out from where it was perched in the 
shelter of the house and landed in a tree. It looked like a female goldfinch, 
with dark greenish feathers and wing bars, very wet due to the rain, and pretty 
scruffy. We think maybe the bird is not well - it was eating sunflower seeds 
all by itself - there were no other goldfinches around. I have seen them eat 
sunflower seeds before even when thistle was available at this time of year, 
and it was available yesterday. Anyway, maybe someone out there can explain 
that behavior by the jay. I have not observed that before. Could it be some 
form of pecking order, or maybe the jay perceived that the goldfinch was not 
doing well and tried to move it out of the way? I'm grabbing at straws here.

Al Warfield

Other related posts: