[Tweeters] Which Birds Eat Earthworms?

[Doug Santoni]

Greg —

Earthworms are a favorite food of the American Woodcock (an Eastern bird, sadly not found in Washington).  From timberdoodle.org:

When feeding, a woodcock probes with its bill into soft soil. Sensitive nerve endings in the lower third of the bill help the bird locate earthworms, its favorite prey. The woodcock is able to open the foremost third of its upper bill, or mandible, while the bill is sunk in the ground, helping it to seize worms and pull them from their burrows. The woodcock’s long tongue and the underside of the mandible are rough-surfaced for securing slippery prey.

Earthworms, high in fat and protein, typically make up about three-quarters of a woodcock's diet.

Doug Santoni / Seattle, WA / dougsantoni at gmail dot come



> On Jul 21, 2023, at 11:04 PM, Greg <gjpluth at gmail.com> wrote:

> 

> Really appreciate all the in-depth knowledge on earthworms. Now I wonder what other species of birds in North America seek out earth worms. Also, of all the species of earth worms, I wonder which are most common to “lawns.”

> 

> Sent from my iPhone

> 

>> On Jul 21, 2023, at 1:30 PM, Steven Wood <woodsteven at seattleu.edu> wrote:

>> 

>> 

>> While there are plenty of invasive earthworms in North America, primarily in the northeast and areas that have been relatively recently lost their glaciers, about 2/3rds of the earthworms in North America are natives and could have fed American Robins before transatlantic shipping became common:

>>  

>> “Earthworms are shifting their ranges northwards into forests between 45° <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_parallel_north> and 69° latitude <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69th_parallel_north> in North America that have lacked native earthworms since the last ice age <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_glacial_period>.[4] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_America#cite_note-Frelich-4> The worms in question are primary engineers of their environment. They are considered keystone species <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_species> because, as detritivores <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detritivore>, they alter many different variables of their ecosystem.[4] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_America#cite_note-Frelich-4> Of the 182 taxa of earthworms found in the United States and Canada, 60 (33%) are introduced species.[5] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_America#cite_note-Blakemore-5> “

>>  

>> From: Invasive earthworms of North America - Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_America>_______________________________________________

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