We don't know what those birds are feeling, but we have no reason to assume it's grief over other feelings. At face value, they are making alarm calls and gathe

We don't know what those birds are feeling, but we have no reason to assume it's grief over other feelings. At face value, they are making alarm calls and gathering around the dead body. Of course we don't know how birds display grief and maybe this is how they show it, but again we have no evidence for that. Thinking that their actions may be done to warn of poisonous food sources isn't as far-fetched as you make it out to be. It has a clear evolutionary benefit. As for grief, it is beneficial in tight communities as it helps strengthen social bonds. This is why people are less affected by the death of a stranger than that of a close relative. But blue jays are not highly social animals and the dead bird in question is one they have never seen before anyway. Scientifically, grief is actually one of the less likely possibilities as there doesn't seem to be any reason why they would grieve an unknown bird. And does grief really make emotional sense? When a person finds a body on the street, what do they do? They call for help. Afterwards a crowd may gather as the police cordon off the area. But the crowd isn't grieving, they're simply morbidly curious.