Ask A Scientist Zoology Archive

name         Suzanne M.
status      other
age          30s

Question -   I put up a bluebird house and the parents (same mother
and father) had two sets of bluebirds this summer, both fledged and the
first set even came to my meal worm feeders. About 4 weeks ago the mother
bluebird came to the feeder by herself and brought meal worms up to the
fledglings for about 4 days in a row, she seemed very jittery and the
father was nowhere in sight, after about a week I never saw her or the
babies again.  Today I noticed a bluejay  with absolutely no head
feathers, I do not think he is molting, too late in the season. My
neighbor has admitted to spraying roundup, could an herbicide kill the
bluebirds and cause birth defects in other birds??  
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There are so many things that can happen to birds, from both human and
non-human impacts, that it is impossible to say what caused the bluebirds to
disappear or the jay to lose head feathers. It is most likely the two are
not related, but again, no way to say for sure. Roundup is used for weed
control in many ecological habitat restoration and maintenance projects, and
I have NOT heard reports of negative impacts on birds. Roundup is a poison,
of course, and requires proper handling and application. In Illinois,
commercial and public applicators of roundup must have a license from the
Ill. Dept. of Agriculture, but homeowners may apply on their own property
without regulation. Even if there is a connection to your bird observations
it would be virtually impossible to prove, unless there was an ongoing
situation with very careful study.

J. Elliott
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