Having written twice recently about insects and referred to insectivorous birds I thought it was time to show some more of the birds involved, with a focus on perching birds (or passerines). Here are four, although there are five photos as in the last two images we have a male and a female of the same species.

I remember this Robin especially as it was almost the only bird I saw well enough to get a photograph during a visit to a local reserve. It would perch on a branch with insects in its bill, disappear for a few minutes then reappear with a different collection. Clearly it was working hard at feeding a nestful of youngsters and here seems to have a moth and a hoverfly, just the kind of protein needed by the growing chicks. During the winter months a Robin will eat seeds and berries but when insects are available they’re the preferred diet.

This Dipper perched on a rock in the River Cocker near Cockermouth is not exclusively an insectivorous bit would also be very happy with little fish such as minnows and other invertebrates such as caddis fly larvae. In fact it is unique among passerines in that it hunts for prey under water, being an expert diver and able to overturn stones on a river bed to find what is underneath.

Today, though our Dipper has a caught an insect. In fact as I watched it for a while this was not the only one taken off to the nest. As well as getting its food from under the water it is a quite comprehensive insectivorous bird and a competent flycatcher, also taking prey from the air during short flights, not only small flies but also moths, butterflies and more.

On an early morning by the River Derwent near Workington this Grey Wagtail had been very busy collecting quite a collection of insects. Although it can be found well away from water this species is commonly found in a wide variety of waterside environments and as an insectivorous bird has an appetite for a wide range of small invertebrates which it will pick from the ground or the water surface, sometimes hovering for a few seconds before pouncing.

The Grey Wagtail is a flycatcher and can also catch insects in mid-air. It will take a wide variety of flies including moths, beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers, sawflies and ants, both as adults and in their larval stages.

Mrs. Stonechat has found a fly of some kind. Will she swallow it herself or take it back to her nest to feed the young? I took this photo at a spot where there have been breeding Stonechats for the past few years and many of my Stonechat images were shot here, although this is the only one I have of the female with a fly in her bill.

On the other hand her partner, Mr. Stonechat, is frequently seen with insects that he’s caught; also sometimes insect larvae, grubs, as in the header photo of my earlier insect post. He’s very much an insectivorous bird who enjoys small to medium-sized insects but will also take other small invertebrates.

When he’s sitting on a perch about one or two metres high he’s not often simply lounging around but will be watching for something edible on the ground and will then drop down, pick it up and return to his perch or another nearby. Here he’s caught a moth. I’m not sure what species as when I asked in a forum of insect experts I got mixed answers.

That’s all for now. There are many insectivorous birds (and there are also insectivorous plants!) and so, as I’ve said before, insects occupy a vital place in the scheme of nature.