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Catching Insects
There’s more than one way to catch an insect!
© Kelly Colgan Azar / FCC
Birds that depend on flies for food have many creative ways of catching their prey. Swallows execute sharp turns and quick changes of speed. Bluebirds watch from a perch, pouncing when the time is right. A Chuck-will’s-widow flies with its scoop-like mouth wide open, engulfing moths and other insects. A Merlin snares dragonflies in its talons. Hummingbirds dart into swarms of midges.
BirdNote®
Catching Insects
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is Birdnote.
[Barn Swallow song, XC 631960, 0:03-0:07]
There’s more than one way to catch an insect.
Swallows swoop and glide in pursuit of prey, executing sharp turns and quick changes of speed.
A bluebird perches on a utility wire and watches below.
[Eastern Bluebird song, XC 599325, 0:13-0:16]
When the time is right, the bluebird pounces and clamps its bill on a choice bug.
A Willow Flycatcher...
[Willow Flycatcher song, XC 600077, 0:07-0:10]
....ensconced in a large shrub, makes short, darting flights to snap up insects without leaving the shelter of the greenery.
At twilight, a Chuck-will’s-widow cruises just a few feet off the ground, its scoop-like mouth wide open, engulfing moths with the help of bristles around its gaping beak.
[Chuck-will’s-widow call, XC 450492, 0:05-0:10]
The next morning, a hummingbird and a Merlin are perched atop a bare tree.
[Merlin call, XC 588886]
The Merlin sallies out to snare a dragonfly in its talons, returning to its perch to pluck the wings off before devouring its catch.
The hummingbird flies up into a swarm of midges, then sweeps back and forth, picking off the tiny bugs. Another of the many ways birds catch insects.
[Rufous Hummingbird buzz, ML6116]
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Digital Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Barn Swallow Xeno Canto 631960 recorded by M. Grosselet, Eastern Bluebird Xeno Canto 599325 recorded by C. McPherson, Willow Flycatcher Xeno Canto 600077 recorded by C. McPherson, Chuck-will’s-widow Xeno Canto 450492 recorded by S. Riffe, Merlin Xeno Canto 588886 recorded by S. Elliott, Rufous Hummingbird ML 6116 recorded by R. Little.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote November 2021 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# foraging-02-2021-11-15 foraging-02
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