Page 24 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

INTRODUCTION

FEEDING

irds eat a wide range of items from a variety of forages for
Bsources; some, for example, perch to eat berries worms and pecks at
tiny insects
BLACKBIRD berries BLUE TIT
while others dive into water to fish.The overall shape and seeds
of a bird is a strong indication of what it eats and how
it obtains its food.This is most obviously revealed in the
shape of its bill, but there are also clues in its head and picks up
insects
neck shape, and the length and shape of its legs and feet. cracks
REED WARBLER CHAFFINCH seeds and
picks up
BILL SHAPE sweeps caterpillars
There are many subtle probes for sideways for
tiny shrimps
worms in
variations in bill shape, deep mud in water
but there are a few basic grasps
forms that perform specific fish
functions. For example, long, thin CURLEW AVOCET GREY HERON
bills probe into soft mud and sand to dabbles for
grab worms, and thick beaks crack seeds from
water
seeds or pluck grass. Hooked bills, on
the other hand, can tear flesh, while tears grass tears
and roots
saw-toothed bills are able to grasp meat
and hold on to slippery fish. GREYLAG GOOSE MALLARD GOLDEN EAGLE
DABBLING WATER FEEDERS
“Dabbling” involves opening the beak Birds use various methods to obtain food from water.
while skimming it across the surface Some wade or swim in order to pick insects from the
of the water. Dabblers filter water
through a fine mesh at the sides of surface and shore line. Others dive headlong into the
their bill in order to trap tiny seeds water to catch fish. Razorbills actually dive as deep
and organisms that down as 100m (330ft) underwater, using their wings
they then swallow. to propel them downwards. Grebes, divers, cormorants,
and diving ducks are able to dive underwater
from their sitting position on the surface, while
other birds, such as swans, reach the bottom
by “upending” and using
their long necks.
UPENDING
This Shelduck is unable to reach
the bottom by just dipping its
head under the water’s
surface, so it gets a little
deeper by swinging its
whole body over and
stretching its neck.
FISHING PROBING
A Kingfisher catches fish by The long bill of a Godwit is the ideal tool
grabbing them, not stabbing, for pushing deep into soft mud in order
despite its sharp bill. It usually to probe for worms and molluscs. However,
drops from a perch, then flies if the ground is too hard it cannot feed.
back up with a fish in its beak.
It will then beat the fish against
a branch before swallowing it.

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