Insects and the birds that feed on them
Published 9:49 am Tuesday, January 20, 2009
By Staff
Did you know that insects are the most numerous creature on this planet? Four out of every five creatures is an insect.
Some are vegetarians. Some are carnivores. Some, on the other hand, eat nearly everything in sight, while others can eat only one species of plants.
But I'm told that only a small minority, only the trivial pesty ones, actually feed on our crops or ornamental plants.
Matters not to a bird. They are all labeled good eats.
That being so, insects are very rich in proteins and fats. Be they beneficial or the blasted garden pest kind, they do indeed supply the needed energy to keep birds active and healthy.
About in my garden, I'm fascinated and curious as to which bird eats what. But I'm not going to be found sitting around all day, trying to figure out which birds to attract to my garden to get rid of any specific garden pests. I have every faith they'll eventually get it all sorted out.
For all God's creatures and critters know the rules. It's call life's natural balance.
Have you ever watched a bird at work? Tirelessly searching, combing every square inch of garden foliage. What's lurking in amongst those dark spaces? Or they can be found probing miles of crevices in tree bark (bird FYI: Some types of birds search only up the tree, while another type searches only down a tree for its meal.)
I've found birds thrashing amongst the leaf mold that I have meticulously laid upon my flowerbeds and under my shrubs and trees. Gleaning every insect that can be found, be they adult, young, cocoon or egg.
No distinction being made, they go at it, consuming huge quantities of insects.
Some birds depend so heavily upon insects for food that they'll starve if cold weather causes the insect population to disappear. Which leads to migration.
Are you interested in which bird eats what? Well, here is a short list.
Eastern bluebird: beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, katydids.
Cardinal: aphids, beetles, caterpillars, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, termites, codling moths.
Black-capped chickadees: caterpillars, insect eggs, spiders.
Common grackle: ants, beetles, earthworms, flies, grubs, grasshoppers, boll weevils.
Starlings: ants, millipedes, spiders, wasps and innumerable Japanese beetle grubs. Have you ever watched a group of starlings out in your lawn in the summer? Ever wonder what they are doing? Sometimes they get shoulder to shoulder in a row.
They're out there "hunting" for grubs. I call it "sweeping" and "grazing" the lawn.
Blue jay: beetles, tent caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, gypsy moth caterpillars.
Robin: earthworms, beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers, termites.
Junco: ants, beetles, spiders, wasps, weevils.
Northern orioles: caterpillars, especially hairy ones like gypsy moths and tent caterpillars.
Robin: earthworms, beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers, termites.
Tufted titmouse: any caterpillar.
Chipping sparrow: ants, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, weevils.
Song sparrow: cutworms, wasps, beetles, ants, army worms, grasshoppers.
White-crowned sparrow: beetles, caterpillars, flies, mosquitoes, spiders.
White-throated sparrows: ants, beetles, flies.
Downy woodpecker: carpenter ants, click beetles, spruce beetles, wood borers, tent caterpillars, cicadas, moths, pine weevils.
Flickers: ants.
Red-winged blackbirds: beetles, caddis flies, cankerworms, gypsy moths, tent caterpillars, grasshoppers, grubs, mayflies, moths, spiders.
Very few of the species you see in your garden are pests.
– Rodale's Chemical-Free
Yard and Garden