Blue Jay...Busted!

This incident I recently captured on film is perfect for the blue #colorchallenge. The shocking footage is that of a nervous looking bird, a blue jay, hiding a peanut...still in it's shell, mind you!

Upon observing this, I immediately recalled every tidbit and half-truth I know regarding this bluest of jays.

Okay, I immediately recalled every tidbit and half-truth I know regarding this second bluest of jays.

Let's see...they're blue, they're the jerks of the bird kingdom, and they're the mascot of a major league baseball team. Yup, that about covers it. I mean, I also assumed they eat what other birds typically eat...insects, seeds, french fries, etc. But a nut? Still in it's shell? This reporter is determined to find the truth.

After doing some digging I was able to verify that blue jays are, in fact, blue. Nailed that one. I call them jerks because they are know to steal other birds' nests and eat their eggs. However, this might not be as common as previously thought. In an extensive study of Blue Jay feeding habits, only 1% of jays had evidence of eggs or birds in their stomachs. Most of their diet was composed of insects and nuts. Maybe they only flip out if another bird tries to nest too closely.

It turns out, they will harvest nuts and store them in holes in the ground, just like squirrels. When they're ready to eat, they hold the nut with their feet and pound on it with their bills. Acorns are their nut of choice.

Acorns make sense. But, where does a bird get a peanut? This is the question that is troubling me. I've work over some possible scenarios.

The Store: Did this blue jay get the peanut from the store? If it did, it didn't pay for it. That's shoplifting, which makes this scenario worth investigating further.
The Ground: You're probably thinking this scenario is the most likely. You're also probably thinking that I'm being ridiculous. Well, ask yourself this...who leaves a perfectly good peanut lying on the ground? Yeah. Now who's ridiculous? This leads us to the third, and most likely, scenario...
The Assault: Picture this...your precious child is enjoying some fresh air and a bag of peanuts. Suddenly, a vicious, blue blur attacks from out of nowhere. Your beautiful angel is pecked mercilessly by a beak that feels like it's everywhere at once. The sounds of screams and scattered peanuts permeate the air. The assault ends as suddenly as it begins. Satisfied with a job well done, the blue jay escapes with it's peanut prize.

I urge you to watch the full video below and then decide for yourself. But, does this look like the face of an innocent bird?