Gooday Tim I couldn’t tell you whether flying ants are part of the diet of bowerbirds or figbirds. I imagine they would be. It certainly sounds like your birds have had some experience at hawking them. But I do recall a time when I visited a spot called Highfields Falls, not far north of Toowoomba, Queensland, a few years ago. Just after I arrived, a short, heavy shower fell and almost immediately afterwards there were flying ants everywhere. They were so thick that one bird, a Lewin’s Honeyeater, didn’t even move off its perch to snatch them up. It just sat back, opened and closed its beak every now and then and acquired its fill that way. It seemed the most sensible way to go about feeding at the time. Michael W
Tim Morris wrote:”This evening when the rains cleared the flying ants were swarming and the local birds enjoyed the opportunity with Dollarbirds, Little Wattlebirds, a Grey Butcherbird, a Black Faced Cuckooshrike, Noisy Miners and a Spangled Drongo all hawking for the flying ants”.
“However they were also joined by Satin Bowerbirds and Figbirds who seemed to be making the most of the change of diet. The Bowerbirds weren’t the most agile of hawkers however they seemed to know what they were doing. This is the second time I have seen them feeding on flying ants. I haven’t got access to HANZAB and was wondering if flying ants are recorded as part of the Figbirds and Bowerbird diet?”
Tim
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