birding-aus

Flying Ant Diet

To: michael wood <>
Subject: Flying Ant Diet
From: "" <>
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 10:06:29 +1100
I have seen Regent Bowerbirds sitting in the top of a large tree catching 
flying insects west of Kemspey.

I have an image here: http://www.pbase.com/davidstowe/regent_bowerbird

Not flying ants but along the same lines. If anyone can confirm if they are 
bees and also the tree i'd really appreciate it!

Cheers
Dave

On 07/10/2010, at 8:32 AM, michael wood wrote:

>
> 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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