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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Toe Feeding


Did you ever watch the way chickadees feed? This Black-capped Chickadee takes a sunflower seed from our feeder, then goes to a branch, holds the sunflower between its toes and cracks open the seed. This is a typical chickadee feeding technique for larger seeds. Tufted Titmice do this also. These birds can't hull the seed in their bill as can birds such as finches and cardinals. Watching different bird's feeding behavior is one of the fun things you can do at your feeder.

5 comments:

Montanagirl said...

I have gotten a few photos of them doing just what you described: Taking a sunflower seed to a branch and holding it with their toes while they crack it open. They are so energetic and cute. A lot of fun to watch.

Connie said...

Are their different breeds of Chickadees? I thought I knew what they looked like, but this one is much prettier than what I had been calling a Chickadee in the Northwest.

Fun to learn how they eat - I didn't know!

normana53 said...

We really enjoy watching the birds who visit our yard and feeders here in the Seattle area. We have recorded 36 species in our certified backyard wildlife preserve, and regularly have Bald Eagles flying overhead.

We really enjoy the Flickers and woodpeckers that visit daily, and I especially love watching the Towhee foraging dance.

Thank you for your posts and for your Field Guide to Bird Songs, which we load on our iPod when we go on birding trips.

Unknown said...

it is a fun thing to watch!

AntrimLyons said...

I did not know that......I really love your website.