Many birds are natural enemies of ants. The following bird species in particular eat ants at certain times of the year. If you have a lot of ant trails in the garden, the ants' natural enemies can be of help.
What kind of birds eat ants?
Chicken birds such as partridges and pheasants or capercaillie eat a lot of ants. However, they mostly stay in the forest. TheWoodpeckeris a particularly versatile ant hunter. Flying hunters such as theSwallow or the swift hunt specifically for flying ants.
Which chicken birds eat ants?
PartridgesandPheasantsas well asCapercaillie eat many ants. The birds mentioned even eat quite a large number of ants. Especially when breeding and raising young birds, these birds eat huge amounts of ants from their surroundings.
Which forest birds eat ants?
Thewoodpecker is also one of the ant's natural enemies. This bird doesn't just eat ants on the ground. Woodpeckers such as the green woodpecker or the black woodpecker track down ants and also eat ants that have nested in dead wood of trees or are found on a tree. As is well known, the woodpecker specifically works on this wood to find and eat insects.
Which migratory birds eat ants?
Migratory birds such as theSwallowor theSwift also eat ants. These birds are known as flight hunters. When the sexually mature ants fly up with their wings for their nuptial flight, both birds hunt down the flying ants and eat them.
Tip
Not every enemy of the ant is equally well known
Many people know the anteater as the natural enemy of ants. This animal comes from South and Central America and does not live freely in our regions. In fact, many birds and other domestic animals also eat ants.
