Birds That Hunt Birds
RED-TAILED HAWK Red-tailed Hawk is one of the most common raptors. Most of their diet consists of small mammals like rabbits, squirrels, rodents and even snakes. However they do also eat birds. While tiny birds aren’t worth chasing, medium to large sized birds are such as bobwhites, pheasants, blackbirds and starlings.
COOPER’S HAWK Cooper’s Hawks are a smaller species of raptor that lives in the lower 48 states. They live year-round in all but the northern states and are the smallest hawk in the U.S. They are known to hunt lizards, small mammals, and the nestlings of other birds. If they spot an unattended nest, they’ll fly down and steal a chick from the nest.
BARRED OWL Barred Owls’ unmistakable call of “who-cooks-for-you? who-cooks-for-you-all?” can be heard from across a forest and a backyard. They are nocturnal hunters which consume mice, rats, and birds. Most birds are fair game, up to about the size of a grouse or chicken.
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER Red-bellied Woodpeckers are only occasional bird-eaters. Most of their diet stems from insects and nuts. Like most woodpeckers, they spend the majority of the day pecking for insects in the bark of trees. However, they’ll gladly peck into unhatched eggs from nearby unattended nests.
BALD EAGLE Fish are the main staple of a Bald Eagles diet, however they will supplement with many other food sources. This may include amphibians, reptiles, crabs, small mammals and birds. If they target birds, it is often shorebirds and waterfowl such as gulls, geese, loons and ducks.
BLUE JAY Blue Jays are nearly impossible to miss with their bright blue feathers. This species lives east of the Rocky Mountains year-round. They prefer open woodlands and forests, where they can forage along the ground for acorns and invertebrates. However, these noisy critters are also known to steal eggs from the nests of smaller birds. Sometimes, they’ll even kill nestlings.
GRAY CATBIRD Scientists have witnessed Gray Catbirds killing the chicks and destroying the eggs in rival bird species’ nests. They choose to attack species like the Chipping Sparrow and Eastern Wood-Pewee.
COMMON GRACKLE The Common Grackle is a rather notorious bird found throughout most of the eastern and midwestern United States. Gregarious and noisy, these birds flock in huge groups where they search for insects, invertebrates and small frogs and lizards. They also eat chicks from other birds’ nests and can easily peck into eggs.
GREAT HORNED OWL The Great Horned Owl is one of the easiest to owls to recognize. With its tall ear tufts and piercing yellow eyes, it is often used to represent owls in media, as well as being one of the most common species found in the U.S. Great Horned Owls are fearsome predators that catch and kill nearly any kind of prey, but mainly small to medium sized mammals and birds.
AMERICAN KESTREL This petite raptor is the smallest raptor in the United States. Despite its delicate size, it’s a fierce predator known especially for preying on sparrows. Another name for it is actually the Sparrow Hawk. American Kestrels live throughout most of the United States, where they prefer to hunt for prey in open landscapes like grasslands and fields.