Well I just went up to the Bird boss and destroyed it first time up, we must have different playstyles. I try to sustain, with Hymm of Fire and Def/Mag Def buffs from Serena / Veronica the spells didn't do much to me, Rab's heal over time was enough when they used a turn to cast. The physical damage could go pretty bad though before I got the extra birds down.
I may have to respec Jade and give that a shot if I can't crack it (put points in claws), I haven't been using her at all either. My party has been pretty much Serena, Veronica, Hero and Rab since I got them all. Thanks for the tip.