Hummingbirds are recognized for their lightning-fast wingbeats and hovering at flowers to sip nectar. This sugary liquid provides the tremendous energy required to sustain their high metabolism and acrobatic flight. However, the hummingbird diet is not exclusively sweet. These tiny birds are insectivores, actively hunting small arthropods, including ants and spiders, to meet their complete nutritional needs.
Ants as a Necessary Protein Source
Nectar offers carbohydrates that act as pure fuel for the bird’s demanding lifestyle. However, this energy source lacks the necessary building blocks for growth and maintenance.
Insects, such as ants, gnats, and aphids, are an indispensable part of their diet. These small arthropods provide concentrated amounts of protein, fats, and amino acids, which are used for developing muscle tissue and maintaining feather health.
Juveniles rely heavily on this protein for rapid growth and development. The need for protein also increases dramatically for adult hummingbirds during the breeding season to support egg production and subsequent molting cycles.
Ants are a readily available and slow-moving source of these essential nutrients. While some ant species contain formic acid, the birds still consume them, often favoring the softer, protein-rich ant larvae. A single hummingbird may consume hundreds to over a thousand small insects daily.
Methods of Insect Capture
Hummingbirds use distinct hunting behaviors to acquire insect prey. One method is gleaning, where the bird plucks stationary insects directly off a surface.
Gleaning involves hovering momentarily to snatch small invertebrates, like ants or aphids, from leaves, branches, or tree bark. They also frequently target insects trapped in spiderwebs, using the sticky strands to pick off entangled prey.
Another common strategy is aerial hawking, which involves capturing flying insects mid-air. The bird rapidly darts back and forth, snatching gnats, flies, and mosquitoes with a quick snap of its bill.
Since hummingbirds cannot dismember prey with their long, slender bills, they must select insects small enough to be swallowed whole. During the nesting phase, parents tirelessly hunt these protein sources, capturing several insects in quick succession before delivering them to their young.
The Difference Between Eating Ants and Anting
Consuming ants for nutrition is separate from a distinct avian behavior known as “anting.” Anting is a maintenance ritual, not a feeding practice, observed in over 200 bird species.
This behavior involves rubbing ants onto the feathers and skin. Birds typically choose ants that produce formic acid, which is a defensive chemical.
They may hold the ant in their bill and actively rub it across their plumage, a process called active anting. It is hypothesized that the formic acid acts as a natural deterrent against feather-destroying bacteria, fungi, or ectoparasites.
Another theory suggests anting helps condition the feathers by removing excess preen oil or soothing irritated skin during a heavy molt. Anting is a hygiene-focused behavior, resulting in the ant being discarded rather than swallowed. This contrasts with the deliberate gleaning of ants for consumption.