Do bluejays eat sunflower seeds whole?

[Joe]

Hi,

I've been watching the blue jays wolf down the seeds I've put on my
deck. It looks like they just gulp down the entire seed, shell and all.
Can they digest the shell or do they cough the seeds back up later and
shell them?

Joe
Central NJ

[JJCardinal]

>I've been watching the blue jays wolf down the seeds I've put on my
>deck. It looks like they just gulp down the entire seed, shell and all.

Joe, Blue Jays cache food almost as much a squirrels do! Those gulps are the
Jays stuffing their crops full so they can fly off and stash the seeds
somewhere else.

Louise Dawson
JJCardinal

[EM]

Almost right. Actually, they stuff those seeds in their throat pouch,
not their crop. They can store quite a few seeds in there. When full,
they look as if they have a huge goiter!

So yes Joe, blue jays do indeed eat sunflower seeds. They crack them
much in the same manner as chickadees do, only they swallow the meat
whole (unlike chickadees, who peck away small bites).

[Marcia]

Joe wrote:

--
*Marcia Marvin*mma...@hevanet.com*Portland, OR, USA*

[Marcia]

Coming soon to your garden...clumps of sunflower seedlings, stashed in the
soil by those same jays. Are they really planning to come back later and
eat the seeds, or are they sowing next season's crop?

Marcia

Joe wrote:

--
*Marcia Marvin*mma...@hevanet.com*Portland, OR, USA*

[melanie thomson]

Joe wrote:

I'm pretty sure they just fill up their mouth with them. Unlike the finches
who can shell the seeds in their beak, they usually put them down on a
branch and peck at them to get the seed out. I feed them peanuts from my
back porch, and after a few visits, I can see the shelled peanuts filled
right up in their mouth so that they can barely take another one. I have
also seen them burying both peanuts and sunflower seeds around the yard. I
could be wrong though - I'm just going on my observations.

Melanie

[Stephanie Keane]

I'm fascinated by the technique used by the bluejays that visit my feeder.
They stand on the edge of my wooden tray feeder, pick up a seed in their
beak and position it between their feet. They then peck at it with the
whole force of their bodies - it makes quite a sound! Once it's cracked
open, they swallow the meat. I think the precision they employ is amazing!

Stephanie

"Joe" <jm...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:3B192B7D...@worldnet.att.net...

[Joe]

Thanks to all those who responded. If I get a crop of sunflower seeds in
my yard I'll know why. :-)

Joe
Central NJ

[Joe]

Stephanie,

The titmice and the chickadees do the same thing, but it takes them a
little longer to open the seed and peck out the meat.

Joe

[mcbride...@gmail.com]

like many birds Blue Jays don't feel safe feeding. They take as many seeds as they can and take them to a place were they feel safe and then eat them.
They crack them open and eat the seed.