EXPLORING NATURE: BIRD EATS

Birds eat the darndest things.

Seeds, fruits, animals and nectar are all on the menu. Plus, you will find such oddities as leaves and beeswax being eaten. Also bones, garbage and animal dung. It all depends on the different

It all depends on the different digestive capabilities, and these depend on the various stomachs, gizzards and intestines of specific birds. The range is quite extensive.

A phainopela’s favorite food is mistletoe berries. It can eat over a thousand in one day. Wow. More amazing, the digestive journey from bill to dropping can be as little as 12 minutes. Double wow.

Indigestible seeds become mistletoe plants when deposited as sticky droppings on bushes and trees.

Hoatzins, a weird South American bird I’ve had the pleasure of seeing, eat leaves. Seabirds have a salty diet because of the ocean’s salinity, but that’s no problem because they have salt glands that concentrate and excrete the excess salt.

Honeyguides, a type of bird found in Africa, love to eat beeswax. They have particularly thick skin to defend against stings, and in addition to the wax, they also eat the honeybee eggs and larvae in the hive.

Finally, consider that while some birds require frequent feedings, others can go a long time without eating. The average hummingbird requires almost continuous feeding and goes into a torpor at night to conserve energy. But an incubating male Emperor penguin often fasts for up to 115 days. Triple wow.