Most vertebrates are predators, and among them it is the birds that can be awarded the palm in the number of exterminated insects. So, some of these birdies can kill about a hundred insects in a day. The most common among birds that feed on insects (if we take into account urban conditions) is the order of passerines – these are the well-known tits, sparrows, flycatchers and other birds.
A particularly large number of insects are consumed by birds during the nesting and feeding period – in the spring. Therefore, this nuance must be taken into account when planning measures to combat spring pests – chemical treatment at this time can damage chicks and birds.
Great tit
Blue tit
Starling
Lark
Crested lark
White wagtail
Forest horse
Common nuthatch
Pied flycatcher
Other carnivorous birds
Yellow-headed beetle
Willow warbler
SulfurI’m a warbler
Slavka-chernogolovka
Blackbird
Common redstart
Nightingale
Bluethroat
Зарянка
Hoopoe
Common raven
Hoodie
Ivolga
Finch
Sparrow
Great spotted woodpecker
Woodpecker melanerpes
Red-bellied woodpecker
Common woodpecker
Great pointed woodpecker
Magellan’s woodpecker
Syrian woodpecker
White-backed woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Vertigo
Green woodpecker
Lesser spotted woodpecker
Gray-headed woodpecker
Middle Spotted Woodpecker
Three-toed woodpecker
Black woodpecker (Zhelna)
The value of insectivores
The main benefit of insectivorous birds is precisely in the destruction of a huge number of pests that infringe on the crop. Of course, these are far from all insects, but the destroyed mass of beetles is enough to preserve garden and other plantings. Starlings, swallows, redstarts actively work and help in agriculture.
Gardeners and agronomists are well aware of the information on the order of feeding of insectivores in order to take into account all the points. So, in the order of the search for food, several groups of these birds are distinguished:
- collecting food in the upper layers of the soil and on its surface, in the grass (finches, blackbirds, rooks);
- hunting on branches of bushes (warblers, robins);
- looking for food on trees (tits, warblers).
Insectivores should be treated with great attention – after all, they are a significant link in the food chain, helping to destroy a wide variety of pests that encroach on crops.
You need to understand that the warm season is characterized by an abundance of food for insectivores, but in cold weather it is advisable to feed them. In this case, it is also necessary to take into account the needs of birds in water.
Conclusion
Birds that feed on insects feed their offspring with this type of food. So, one pair of tits needs 5 thousand insects for their chicks per season. And this is not taking into account the need for food of the parents themselves – usually insectivores eat as much per day as they weigh themselves.
For all their usefulness, the benefits of this type of birds are not limited only to the warm period of the day – after all, these birds are very active in autumn and winter. In cold weather, woodpeckers, titmice cleanse trees of egg-laying pests such as silkworms, moths and many other insects.
We suggest reading the article “What birds eat”, in which you will learn about other categories of birds by the way they are fed.
