Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
may catch several to eat at the surface. Puffins nest in burrows. They feed their young
whole little fish, which they carry back to land in their bills. The roofs of puffin mouths
and their thick, muscular tongues have backward-facing spines that help them hold fish
in their mouths even as they're catching more.
When fish are abundant, puffins catch them close to their nesting sites, but because
they may have to travel as much as 80 miles, or even more when fishing is poor, the ad-
aptations that allow them to carry many fish at once help reduce the number of trips they
must make to the nest. They can hold a dozen or more fish in their bills at one time. It's a
myth that they line up the fish with the heads facing alternate ways.
BaldEaglesandOspreycatchtheirfishwiththeirfeet,whichareconvenientlylocated
near their center of gravity, so they can easily carry the entire fish back to their nests to
feed their young. These raptors have sharp, hooked bills designed for tearing apart fish,
sotheyeat,andthenfeedtheiryoung,chunksoffishratherthanswallowing themwhole.
Q Which birds especially like to eat bees?
A
Beesaredangerous!Unlessabirdknowsinstinctivelyhowtosafelycatchandeatbees,
either by selecting drones (which have no stingers) or by removing the stinger before
swallowingitsprey,itcanbeharmedorkilled.Ioncewitnessedayear-oldcaptiveAmer-
ican Crow catching a wasp in midair. The wasp stung its upper throat, and the bird died
within minutes. Bees are loaded with nutrients and are fairly large, however, so it's not
surprising that some birds would have adapted to overcome their powerful defenses.
In North America, two birds are so good at catching bees that both are nicknamed the
“bee bird.” One is the Eastern Kingbird. One study found that more than 32 percent of an
EasternKingbird'ssummerdietiscomposedofbees,ants,andwasps.WesternKingbirds
also eat a great many bees.
The other is the Summer Tanager, which is often found near apiaries. A Summer Tan-
ager snaps bees in its bill (which is longer than most tanager bills, perhaps to hold these
dangerous insects farther from its face) and carries the bee to a perch where it first slams
it repeatedly against the perch to kill it and then removes the stinger by wiping the dead
insect on the branch.
Beyond North America, one bird family, the bee-eaters (Meropidae, in the same order
as our kingfishers), specializes on catching bees. Bee-eaters, found in Africa, southern
Europe, southern Asia, Australia, and New Guinea, are beautifully colored birds. They
catch bees in their long bill, and then, like our Summer Tanager, swallow the bee only
after removing the stinger.
Q I often see flickers in my yard picking at the ground. Do they eat ticks?
