Recently I have seen groups of adult house sparrows, attack and kill fledgling house sparrows. It seems to happen when the mothers brings them to the food. The adults peck at the baby`s neck and head until it`s dead. Why are they doing this? I went outside to feed the birds today and the sound of the door frightened off a group that was in the midst of killing one and as they flew off a Blue Jay swooped down and grabbed the injured baby sparrow in it`s beak and flew up into a tree with it, what in the world is going on? I`m sad and confused, can you help me figure this out and tell me what, if anything, can be done to stop this behavior? I scatter the feed on the ground under a very large tree 3 times a day and put out plenty of food.... thank you,

There is not much that can be done to stop the behavior. Blue jays are known nest predators. They will take the eggs and young birds of other species. The house sparrows may be trying to secure the survival of their own young by eliminating the young of other sparrows. While adults eat mainly seeds, they feed their young insects. Insects are a great source of protein, which the young birds need to develop properly. Another possibility is that the young birds are sick or otherwise unfit in some way. Birds are very good at hiding being sick. You or I would not likely notice anything wrong with the birds. But adults sometimes kill young that they do not expect to survive in order to better provision the young that are strong and healthy.