Most vertebrates are predators, and among them it is birds that can be given the palm in terms of the number of exterminated insects. So, some of these pichugs can destroy about a hundred insects in a day. The most common among insect-eating birds (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 period of nesting and rearing of chicks in the spring. Therefore, this nuance must be taken into account when planning spring pest control measures chemical treatment at this time can damage chicks and birds.
great tit
White blue tit
Starling
field lark
Charged Lark
white wagtail
forest horse
common nuthatch
Pied flycatcher
Other insectivorous birds
yellow-headed beetle
Willow warbler
SulfurI’m a warbler
Warbler-chernogolovka
song thrush
common redstart
Nightingale
Bluethroat
Robin
Hoopoe
common raven
Hoodie
Oriole
Finch
Sparrow
Great spotted woodpecker
woodpecker melanerpes
red-bellied woodpecker
woodpecker
Great sharp-winged woodpecker
Magellanic woodpecker
Syrian woodpecker
white-backed woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
Wryneck
green woodpecker
Lesser spotted woodpecker
grey-haired woodpecker
Middle spotted woodpecker
three-toed woodpecker
Black woodpecker (Zelna)
Importance of insectivores
The main benefit of insectivorous birds is precisely in the destruction of a huge number of pests that encroach on the crop. Of course, these are far from all insects, but the destroyed mass of beetles is enough to save garden and other plantings. Squorses, swallows, burners actively work and help in agriculture.
Gardeners and agronomists are well aware of the information on the feeding order of insectivores, in order to take into account all the points. So, in order to search for food, several groups of these birds are distinguished:
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. At the same time, 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 species of birds are not limited only to the period of the warm time of the day after all, these birds are very active both in autumn and winter. In the cold, woodpeckers, tits clean the trees from the egg-laying pests, such as silkworms, codling 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 eat.
