Birds Feeding
Birds have bills appropriate to the types of food they eat. For example, curved bills are suitable for insect probing. Broad flat bills with bristles are good for fly catching. Conical bills are useful in cracking seeds and grains. Woodpeckers have bills suitable for hammering and probing the barks of trees for food. Before chicks and juveniles can forage for themselves, parents must find food for them and in some cases chew it first.
Feeding styles differ too. For example, the Roseate Spoonbill aggressively sways his long, flat spoon-shaped bill back and forth in the water and fails to notice the Great Egret stalking his food slowly and cautiously. The Woodstork shadows his food with outstretched wing(s) and feels for his food in shallow waters. At the end of this page is a 21 second video clip illustrating differences in feeding patterns among the Woodstork, Snowy Egret, and Great Egret. (If you get an X instead of the video, you may need to click in a new message box above to allow the video to be viewed on your computer.)
Feeding styles differ too. For example, the Roseate Spoonbill aggressively sways his long, flat spoon-shaped bill back and forth in the water and fails to notice the Great Egret stalking his food slowly and cautiously. The Woodstork shadows his food with outstretched wing(s) and feels for his food in shallow waters. At the end of this page is a 21 second video clip illustrating differences in feeding patterns among the Woodstork, Snowy Egret, and Great Egret. (If you get an X instead of the video, you may need to click in a new message box above to allow the video to be viewed on your computer.)
| Montezuma Oropendula and Collared Aracari Feed on Fruit in Costa Rica |
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| Anhinga daggers his fish while Woodstork shadows and touches to find his food |  |
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| Purple Gallinule Photo by June Damati Moorhens Photo by Marcia Specht |
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| Osprey feeds newborns Photo by Steve Mattan Dunlins and Dowitcher feeding |
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| Great Egret stalks his food while Roseate Spoonbill keeps head low and waves bill side to side |
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| Red-bellied Woodpecker Feeding Young Photo by KRISTO Northern Parula Feeding by Laura Edwards |
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| Gulls feeding by Ott Weyman |
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| Gull & Eastern Phoebe Feeding by Ott Weyman |
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| Blue-breasted Kingfisher wacks mouse against log before eating it |
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In the Video below note the differences in feeding patterns. The Woodstork slowly feels for food with his feet while the Snowy Egret spots his food and snatches it up quickly before it can get away. The Great Egret stalks his food slowly. |
Birds who eat other birds include falcons, hawks, herons, egrets, eagles, and owls.
Vultures eat birds that are dead (i.e., carrion).
Vultures eat birds that are dead (i.e., carrion).
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