# Birds eating bugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266 "2019-04-30T15:19:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/1 "2019-04-30T15:19:42Z")
Birds look as though they swallow living bugs whole. Do they swallow living bugs whole, i.e. while the bug is alive? Bugs, like beetles, can have powerful mandibles. Is a bird in danger of having its stomach damaged by the critters it eats? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/2 "2019-04-30T15:37:26Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Birds look as though they swallow living bugs whole. > > Do they swallow living bugs whole, i.e. while the bug is alive? > > Bugs, like beetles, can have powerful mandibles. Is a bird in danger of having its stomach damaged by the critters it eats? Which birds are you talking about? What have convinced you that they swallow them living and whole? I’m sure it happens, but most insect eating birds eat insects much smaller than them, and they don’t gently pick them up with the hard crushing beaks, so most insects will be dying from having their body crushed by the time the bird swallows them. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/3 "2019-04-30T15:46:17Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Is a bird in danger of having its stomach damaged by the critters it eats? Birds do not have a “stomach”. They may have a crop, where food is initially held. The proventriculus is the glandular part of the gi tract that is analogous in some ways to the stomach, then a muscular ventriculus. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/4 "2019-04-30T15:52:53Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Which birds are you talking about? > > What have convinced you that they swallow them living and whole? Most birds that eat small insects do in fact swallow them whole and alive. Species that eat large or dangerous insects however, like beetles or bees, will kill the insect first by crushing it in the bill or beating it against a branch first and remove the dangerous parts before swallowing it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/5 "2019-04-30T15:59:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Most birds that eat small insects do in fact swallow them whole and alive. Species that eat large or dangerous insects however, like beetles or bees, will kill the insect first by crushing it in the bill or beating it against a branch first and remove the dangerous parts before swallowing it. I once observed a postmortem examination of a nighthawk (_Chordeiles minor_). It was amazing how many gnats, mosquitoes, etc were in the bird’s crop, many thousands at least. AIUI, the bird flies around with its mouth open, catching everything it encounters. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/6 "2019-04-30T16:38:40Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Most birds that eat small insects do in fact swallow them whole and alive. Species that eat large or dangerous insects however, like beetles or bees, will kill the insect first by crushing it in the bill or beating it against a branch first and remove the dangerous parts before swallowing it. Then there are shrikes, also known a butcherbirds. From wikipedia - > [@](#): > > Shrikes are known for their habit of catching insects and small vertebrates and impaling their bodies on thorns, the spikes on barbed-wire fences, or any available sharp point. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently sized fragments, and serves as a cache so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/7 "2019-04-30T16:48:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Most birds that eat small insects do in fact swallow them whole and alive. Species that eat large or dangerous insects however, like beetles or bees, will kill the insect first by crushing it in the bill or beating it against a branch first and remove the dangerous parts before swallowing it. Yes, I didn’t mean to say they definitely don’t, just trying to get the OP to clarify how he’d come to worry about beetles eating birds from the inside. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/8 "2019-04-30T16:54:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Birds do not have a “stomach”. They may have a crop, where food is initially held. The proventriculus is the glandular part of the gi tract that is analogous in some ways to the stomach, then a muscular ventriculus. Considering [m-w.com](http://m-w.com) defines “proventriculus” in this way: > [@](#): > > proventriculus > 1 : the glandular or true stomach of a bird that is situated between the crop and gizzard it’s not that wrong to say birds have stomachs. I agree though that clarifying the significant differences between the mammalian stomach and the multiple organs doing similar functions in the avian digestive system is relevant to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/9 "2019-04-30T16:59:26Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Yes, I didn’t mean to say they definitely don’t, just trying to get the OP to clarify how he’d come to worry about beetles eating birds from the inside. Just doing some work in the garden, revealing creepy-crawlies, which birds come and eat. If one was to hold a small beetle between one’s fingers then one would feel that they have some strong wriggle power for their size. It seems like it must be a regular occurrence for birds to have stuff wriggling away inside of them. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/10 "2019-04-30T18:17:06Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Just doing some work in the garden, revealing creepy-crawlies, which birds come and eat. > > If one was to hold a small beetle between one’s fingers then one would feel that they have some strong wriggle power for their size. It seems like it must be a regular occurrence for birds to have stuff wriggling away inside of them. Ever see [a pelican eat another bird?](https://youtu.be/pBZG_4-w8Aw?t=494) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/11 "2019-04-30T18:21:28Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Just doing some work in the garden, revealing creepy-crawlies, which birds come and eat. > > If one was to hold a small beetle between one’s fingers then one would feel that they have some strong wriggle power for their size. It seems like it must be a regular occurrence for birds to have stuff wriggling away inside of them. Wriggling might freak us humans out, but it takes more than that to be harmful. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/12 "2019-04-30T18:54:26Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Ever see [a pelican eat another bird?](https://youtu.be/pBZG_4-w8Aw?t=494) Doesn’t look like the most comfortable eating experience! I wonder how much of that head-shaking was the pelican trying to kill the bird, and how much was the pelican trying to work the bird into a shape that it could swallow. > [@naita](#): > > Wriggling might freak us humans out, but it takes more than that to be harmful. Yeah, I think we can probably conclude that it can’t be that uncomfortable, or else a bird would spend more effort in ensuring the prey was dead before swallowing. I was trying to think of other animals that swallow (non-tiny) things live. Some fish probably, and maybe whales. Snakes do, and the danger of eating live prey is illustrated by the [python that died](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/photo-in-the-news-python-bursts-after-eating-gator-update/) when the alligator it was eating ripped it’s stomach open. I couldn’t think of any terrestrial mammals eating things live much larger than ants. They seem to bite off parts of prey and/or chew before swallowing, if they haven’t already made sure their meal is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/13 "2019-04-30T20:02:04Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > I wonder how much of that head-shaking was the pelican trying to kill the bird, and how much was the pelican trying to work the bird into a shape that it could swallow. I think it was entirely the prey bird trying to escape. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/14 "2019-04-30T20:58:36Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I think it was entirely the prey bird trying to escape. It looks like the bird is alive for at least most of the video, but it’s difficult to tell near the end. The head-shaking is clearly being done by the pelican. When in the beak pouch, the head-shaking might break the bird’s wings, as well as causing general trauma, and perhaps the throat-shaking might help passing the bird through the throat when swallowing. It looks like the pelican tries to swallow the bird, but, having difficulty doing so, it then semi-regurgitates it for some more shaking in the beak pouch. It’s not clear, though, how much the pelican wanted the bird dead, or whether it was just a case of getting it in the pelican’s bird stomach (proventriculus) any which way. Is there any air in a stomach? Would a living consumed animal have a limited oxygen supply? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/15 "2019-04-30T21:16:10Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Ever see [a pelican eat another bird?](https://youtu.be/pBZG_4-w8Aw?t=494) As the rest of the video shows herons, as well as other birds like storks and others, may swallow small (and not so small) mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and other animals alive and struggling. They may try to kill or incapacitate it by chomping it in the bill or whacking it on the ground, but sometimes it’s clearly still quite alive when it goes down the hatch. > [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Is there any air in a stomach? Would a living consumed animal have a limited oxygen supply? There’s not much if any air, and a swallowed mammal or bird will probably suffocate very rapidly. However, cold-blooded prey can survive a long time without oxygen and may succumb to digestive juices before they suffocate. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/16 "2019-04-30T23:22:29Z")
I’ve seen an x-ray image of a heron that had swallowed a baby badger. The badger managed to ‘dig’ itself up to the birds shoulder. Mutually fatal. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birds-eating-bugs/833266/17 "2019-05-01T23:07:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There’s not much if any air, and a swallowed mammal or bird will probably suffocate very rapidly. However, cold-blooded prey can survive a long time without oxygen and may succumb to digestive juices before they suffocate. > [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > I’ve seen an x-ray image of a heron that had swallowed a baby badger. The badger managed to ‘dig’ itself up to the birds shoulder. Mutually fatal. That’s horrible. ☹