Birds are often admired for their beautiful colors, songs, and ability to fly. However, many species also demonstrate impressive intelligence and problem-solving abilities. A particularly fascinating behavior seen in some birds is the use of tools to obtain food.
Tool use requires advanced cognitive skills. The bird must recognize that an object can help it achieve a goal, select an appropriate object, modify it if needed, and maneuver it appropriately to access food. Tool-using birds provide intriguing examples of animal intelligence and innovation.
In this blog post guide, we will describe 54 species of birds that use tools and objects to get access to elusive or hard-to-reach food sources. The examples are organized by the types of foods the birds are trying to reach and the methods they use. Discover some of the most resourceful and clever birds from around the world!
Birds That Use Tools to Break Into Eggs
Birds need calcium and nutrients from eggs to stay healthy. Some ingenious species have figured out how to crack open eggs using rocks and other objects as tools.
1. Black-breasted buzzard. This raptor in central Australia carries rocks in its talons, then drops them onto emu eggs to crack the thick shells open.
2. Egyptian vulture. It drops stones onto ostrich eggs to smash the shells and access the nutrients inside. Populations in Africa and Asia exhibit this tool-use behavior.
3. Lammergeier. Also known as the bearded vulture, this owl-like bird lives in mountainous regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It drops bones from great heights to crack them open for marrow.
Birds That Use Twigs, Cactus Spines, and Other Tools to Extract Insects
Woodpecker finches and honeyguides stick small twigs into tree crevices to skewer grubs and pull them out. Cactus finches similarly use cactus spines to probe for tasty insects.
4. Woodpecker finch. Named for its similarities to woodpeckers, this finch species in the Galapagos Islands uses cactus spines and small sticks to pry insects and larvae out of holes in trees.
5. Black-breasted woodpecker. Selects a wood sliver from around its nesting cavity to dislodge insects under bark. It wedges the wood bit along the undersides of branches and then hammers it with its beak to expose hiding insects.
6. Brown-headed nuthatch. These small North American songbirds insert bark flakes into hiding spots on tree trunks as leverage tools to expose hiding insects, which they then eat.
7. Egyptian vulture. Uses rocks to break ostrich eggs then sticks its head inside to feed on egg contents. Some also use twigs to stir up beetle larvae from dry cow dung.
8. Northern shrike. Skewers its small vertebrate prey like mice and lizards onto sharp thorns or barbed wire fences. The butcherbirds use these “larders” to store food for later feeding.
9. Green jay. Capable of using sticks as probing tools to poke into crevices for tasty arthropod prey, similar to the woodpecker finch.
10. Striped woodpecker. Joins woodpecker finches in using small stick tools to access insects under bark. However, this species seeks food on large cacti in South American deserts rather than trees.
11. Andean flicker. A South American woodpecker that also uses cactus spines and sticks to probe into holes within cacti to capture insects.
12. Yellow-fronted tinkerbirds. These small African barbets insert grass stems and other slender tools into burrows to flush outspiders and other arthropods sheltering inside.
13. Red-billed buffalo weaver. Sturdy-beaked African songbirds that stab their tools into spider nests within grass stems to pull out their inhabitants. They also occasionally use tools when foraging among branches.
14. White-browned sparrow weaver. A small African finch that feeds mainly on grass seeds but opportunistically uses sticks and other items to probe into crevices.
15. Rufous hornero. This ovenbird species stands out from its relatives for occasionally using small sticks held in its beak to stir up insect prey from tree cracks in its South American habitat.
16. Grey shrike-thrush. Occasionally probes into crevices using sticks and other implements. Demonstrates tool-like behaviors more frequently in urban Australian habitats.
Birds That Use Baited Sticks or Other Implements to Catch Fish
Herons are renowned for their fishing prowess. Some species enhance their catches by actively luring aquatic prey within reach using bait they position on sticks and branches.
17. Green heron. A small North American species that creates lures by positioning insects, flowers or other bait onto sticks, droplets of water, feathers or other objects. It then waits to ambush small fish and amphibians that approach.
18. Black-crowned night heron. Most bait their “fishing lines” at night. These nocturnal foragers also bait potential prey with items such as bread crumbs, insects, or flower petals.
19. Yellow-crowned night heron. A night-feeding relative of the more widespread black-crowned species. It exhibits similar crafty baiting behaviors.
20. Striated heron. Uses worms, bread and insects to actively lure fish within striking range. These resourceful intermediate-sized herons occur throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
21. Cattle egret. An agile heron adept at catching its own grasshopper, dragonfly and other insect baits while foraging alongside livestock on agricultural land throughout the tropics, subtropics and warmer temperate regions.
22. Cocoi heron. A South American species that crafts elaborate lures using colorful bait such as flowers and insects combined with alluring Burke’s foot foliage positioned just above the water surface.
Birds That Use Berries, Bread, and Other Baits to Catch Fish
Gulls and other waterbirds demonstrate tool behaviors and remarkable intelligence by using bread crumbs and objects like berries to bait fish.
23. Herring gull. Widely observed taking bread pieces to actively lure young fish. These ubiquitous Northern Hemisphere gulls may also use other items such as floating berries to bait prey.
24 . Other Larus gulls. Species besides herring gulls observed catching fish using baited crumbs or objects include the mew, great black-backed, laughing, black-tailed, California and ring-billed gull.
25. Kelp gull. Expert at bait-fishing. South America’s dominant coastal scavenging bird species uses bread and intertidal organisms like mussels as bait at the ocean’s edge and inland lakes.
26. Yellow-legged gull. This large Mediterranean gull actively fishes using bread bait and even flashes its bright yellow feet underwater to attract hungry fish.
27. Dolphin gull. Named for its agile fishing behavior. Uses bread and insects to bait prey around lakes and rivers in Argentina, Paraguay and southern Brazil.
28. Silver gull. Opportunistically fishes using household scraps like bread among human habitations along the Australian coast.
29. Brown-hooded gull. Floats bread among shoals of fish along South American coasts, waiting to ambush its prey.
30. Belcher’s gull. While primarily a coastal marine gull, it travels up to 20 miles up Amazonian rivers to actively fish using bread as bait.
31. Grey gull. South American species observed tossing bits of dog biscuit into the ocean as fish bait off the Ecuador coast.
32. Dolphin gull. Both parents bring back active lures made from floating seaweed tendrils and small invertebrate prey to feed newly hatched chicks in coastal Argentina.
Birds That Use Stick Tools to Collect Nest Materials
Some bird’s tool use centers on collecting items to build their complex nest structures rather than directly gaining food. These species modify branches and other implements to aid their home construction process.
33. Black kite. This medium-sized raptor species found worldwide outside the Americas cuts branches from trees using its beak while airborne. It then drops the fresh green sticks into its nest.
34. Palm-nut vulture. Plucks palm fronds mid-air then drops them to the forest floor to access the desirable seed pods within for its nest. It secures footing on the fronds by holding them down with one claw then tears them open using its thick bill.
35. Bearded vulture. This imposing Old World vulture uses stones to crack large bones into fragments more readily incorporated into its giant powerfully scented nests on remote montane cliffs.
Birds That Turn Over Objects to Locate Hiding Prey
Larger birds including crows and gulls often flip stones, seaweed and other debris using their bills or feet while searching for hidden prey.
36. Northwestern crow. Opportunistically flips over debris along intertidal shorelines to uncover marine organisms to eat. Their opportunistic feeding habits contribute to these crows’ great success along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California.
37. American crow. While best known for using sticks to “fish” for insects, they also flip over objects to look for anywhere tasty invertebrate or small vertebrate meals may hide.
38. Common raven. Sometimes overturns objects to access hiding insects, nestling rodents or eggs underneath by grasping prominently protruding portions in their stout grey bills.
39. Yellow-legged gull. Large individuals boldly flip rocks, trash can lids or even roof shingles with their powerful bills in settlements to access hiding foods.
40. Kelp gull. Flips kelp wracks using its bill to unearth and expose hiding marine creatures to prey upon.
Birds That Pull Up Grass Stems and Soil to Uncover Buried Food
Songbirds like grackles possess manual dexterity allowing them to grasp and pull up quaking grass stems to expose hidden seeds and insects underground. Curlews and other shorebirds probe zlibe proboscis-like bills deep into soft soil in search of worms and larvae.
41. Great-tailed grackle. Uses its dexterous grip to lever grass clumps out of the ground, providing access to protein-rich invertebrate larvae.
42. Boat-tailed grackle. While smaller than its more northerly distributed relative, it possesses similar grass pulling foraging behaviors in coastal southeastern U.S. marshes.
43. Common blackbird. Occasionally pulls up quaking grass stems with yellow bill tip to access hiding insects and their larvae while breeding across Europe and Asia.
44. Red-winged blackbird. Opportunistically flips back vegetation mats formed on North American wetlands by invasive grasses so it can feed on underlying seeds more easily during winter.
45. Long-billed curlew. Plunges its long downcurved bill deep into mud then uses its sensitive bill tip to feel for hiding crabs, worms and other buried prey.
46. Whimbrel. A smaller shorebird with an exceptionally long, slender bill well-adapted for deep probing into soils worldwide. It can stab concealed worms up to 4 inches underground!
Birds That Actively Dig to Unearth Buried Food
Herons, ground cuckoos and other resourceful species use their feet and bills to actively dig up tasty worms, burrowing rodents or eggs hidden below ground.
47. Black-crowned night-heron. These widespread herons jab a single foot into soft wetland soils to feel for and snatch earthworms.
48. Great bittern. During breeding season in reed beds across Eurasia, male bitterns make booming courtship calls. The reverberating tones result from using their bills to suck in air across openings they’ve dug into the mud beneath their feet.
49. Stripe-necked ground cuckoo. Uses strong feet and bill to dig trenches up to 30 cm long pursuing worms in leaf litter of subtropical South American forests.
50. Elegant crested-tinamou. Rubs bill from side-to-side to clear forest debris when searching for worms and larvae in tropical montane forests from Costa Rica to western Colombia.
Other Birds That Use Tools to Obtain Food
From parrots that wield hedgehog hides to masked shrikes that impale their prey, birds show boundless ingenuity when it comes to procuring their next meal. Here are a few other extraordinary tool users.
51. Kea. This parrot breeds only in New Zealand’s Southern Alps yet thrives across large elevational ranges up into subalpine zones. Highly innovative, kea may use sticks to scare up insects and even wield hedgehog skins to safely harvest their hidden prey’s nutritious flesh underneath.
52. Egyptian vulture. Sometimes hunts by picking up stones in their talons then hurling them onto ostrich eggs to break into and consume nutritious yolks.
53. Bearded vulture. Carries favorite rocks and stones weighing over four pounds high up into the air, then dropping them to crack open large mammal bones upon impact so they can access the nutritious marrow inside.
54. Northern shrike. Impales freshly killed prey including mammals as large as small birds and rodents onto sharp thorns, barbed wire or spikes. Shrikes use these “larders” to support eating their fill while securing the balance of their catch for later feeding.
Conclusion
As these 54 examples demonstrate, numerous bird species flexibly employ objects, baits and other techniques that harness elements from their environment to gain access to nutritious and often elusive foods.
Such elaborate foraging strategies suggest complex cognition underlies avian tool use. Research documents that woodpecker finches transmit specialized tool-use techniques culturally rather than strictly through instinct. And New Caledonian crows stand out for advanced tool-making abilities including shaping stick ends and combining multiple components to produce functional probes.
Tool use provides birds many benefits. Natural selections likely favor innovative individuals able to tap into new food sources inaccessible to competitors. And tool-assisted foraging provides critical nourishment needed to survive seasonal bottlenecks, migrate long distances, produce nutritious eggs, successfully raise offspring and otherwise overcome challenges posed by birds’ environments worldwide.
Observing birds that use tools prompts awe at the many techniques execution requires, from selecting and modifying equipment to maneuvering it appropriately to access obscure nourishment. Their resourceful feeding behaviors illuminate the keen awareness and problem-solving intelligence many birds apply to exist within the dynamic, often difficult contexts nature presents.
