Over the past few days I have observed a Red-breasted Nuthatch repeatedly foraging in "this year's" abandoned Robin nest. Guess there are some insects there, but I can't see the prey. I had not witnessed this before, so I asked David Leatherman about it. He replied: "I have seen birds foraging in old nests, but usually it is old squirrel nests or swallow (cliff and barn) nests. Have not seen what you saw. I suspect the target (just a guess) was calliphorid fly larvae or pupae which feed on nestlings as ectoparasites (I.e., suck blood*). Could be other critters in a used nest like dermestid beetles, other flies, bird lice, etc."
There seems to be no end to the topic, "what birds eat". Joe Roller, Denver * a behavior they share with phlebotomists -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUCofTaT1F-08B9Lzn65artgvziSpnG0QCoZ%2BODrVOX3uw%40mail.gmail.com.
