Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis) catch dragonflies on the wing (above), with the latter twisting and turning in the air when chased and the former trying very hard to manoeuvre likewise. The chase sometimes looks like a dogfight between two warring fighter planes – one large and the other small. Frequently the dragonfly escapes. After all, dragonflies usually also hunt on the wing and have the skills to do so.

The dragonfly is usually caught at the thorax, where the insect is thickest (below left, right). It is then brought back to the perch where it is subdued and eaten, a habit very similar to that of the prey. The bird usually tosses the dragonfly in the air to position it for swallowing head first (below middle).

Dragonflies are reasonably large insects with prominent wings that give an audible clatter when flying. They have a large head and two equally large compound eyes. They thus make excellent subjects for photographers, especially when they are captured and manipulated by the long pointed bill of bee-eaters.

Photo credits: Lee Tiah Khee (top); Dr Jonathan Cheah Weng Kwong (bottom left), James Wong (bottom middle); Joseph Yao (bottom right).

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

“Just sharing a picture of a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradisus) with his breakfast - a praying mantis. It was captured after a spectacular mid-air battle between the predator and prey.”

Like other drongos, this bird is basically an insectivore - a sallying, substrate-gleaning insectivore.

On 10th September 2008, KC Tsang was in the field keeping watch on a pair of Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) flying in and out of the nest to feed the chicks. The birds flew to a perch some distance from the nest, looked around, then when all was clear, flew directly to the nest (left). The birds did not pose for him with the food - they moved around fast and KC had to act just as fast, missing many opportunities and spending a total of about three hours in the field.

He was impressed by the diversity of food brought to the nest, as shown in the images below (left to right, top to bottom row): moth, spider 1, bug, spider 2, spider 3, bee, termite, caterpillar and grasshopper.

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“It seems that the tailorbirds’ preferences of food items for feeding their chicks, or themselves remains mainly insects of various types, from houseflies, and other flies, bees, spiders, grasshoppers, termites, some form of bugs, and others that I have missed capturing …

“It was observed that both parents would go about collecting food items for their two chicks, and they seem to be pretty efficient about it, returning to the nest at about five to fifteen minutes intervals. Besides feeding the chicks, fecal sacs were removed at about the same time to some far away place.

“These pictures are highly cropped to show the types of insects taken, thus some pictures are slightly blurred…”

Jimmy Tan a.k.a. skylark was in Temburong, Brunei one August 2008 morning when he documented a Black-thighed Falconet (Microbierax fringillarius) feasting on a grasshopper.

“These little raptors are usually perched high but do come down low to feed. I saw this particular one catch what looked like a grasshopper and go to this perch to feed. It then proceeded to devour the grasshopper, head first. Then it went on to the legs before the thorax and abdomen. It finished off with each of the wing-roots and leaving the rest of the wings to fall to the ground. Looks like every substantial part of the insect was eaten, leaving very little to waste.”

This falconet hunts mainly arthropods: flying termites, moths, beetles, mantids, carpenter bees, butterflies, dragonflies, cicadas and grasshoppers. Occasionally, it takes small birds like munias and sunbirds.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

Image by Jimmy Tan.

“Just came back from a short run up Peninsula Malaysia, came across this juvenile Brown Wood Owl (Strix leptogrammica), feasting on a grasshopper. Now one would have thought that owls would eat only eat… rats, birds, and other vertebrates. So this eating of insects was a surprise for me.

“Owls seemed to be doing very well up in Peninsula Malaysia. They can be found commonly hanging around rice fields from Perak down to Melacca, all looking out for rats and others. I was also informed that some rice farmers provide the owls with nesting boxes. So this is a good sign for these night birds.”

KC Tsang
29th August 2008.

KC reported that the owl snatched the grasshopper from the ground and flew back to its perch where it popped it into its mouth.

Marks, Cannings & Mikkola (1999) report the Brown Wood Owl taking small mammals, small birds, reptiles and large insects Also, fish and fruit bats. However, there is no specific mention of grasshoppers.

Reference:
Marks, J. S., Cannings, R. J. & Mikkola, H. (1999). [‘Family Strigidae (Typical Owls)’.] Pp. 76-242 in del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 5. Barn-owls to hummingbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Editions.