How Do Birds Find Worms? (Complete Guide)

The adage “the early bird gets the worm” originated in nature, reflecting the fact that earthworms are more active beneath the soil surface at dawn.

Birds such as thrushes, thrushes and robins take advantage of this, using their long, pointed beaks to dig deep into the soil and successfully pull out worm after worm. How do birds find bugs, and how many bugs can a bird eat in a day?

If you want to learn more about worm-eating birds, keep reading.

Not all birds eat earthworms, but earthworms do form part of the diet of many omnivorous species. Because worms live beneath the soil surface, birds can’t find them by sight alone. They can feel the vibrations of moving worms beneath the soil and can also use their keen sense of hearing.

Blackbirds, thrushes and robins poked their sharp beaks into a patch of grass and pinpointed where the worms might be in the ground. However, it’s not just backyard birds that eat earthworms. Chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and geese will pick up any freshly disturbed clods in the hope that the worms may be close to the surface.

Read on to learn more about which birds eat worms, and the techniques they use to increase their chances of finding the best source of earthworms.

common black bird with a worm in its mouth

Can birds hear bugs?

Birds have very sensitive hearing and can hear sounds beyond the range of human hearing. They can hear the slightest sound below the surface, indicating that a worm or insect is nearby.

By using their feet to sense vibrations as earthworms move through the soil beneath them, combined with their keen sense of hearing, backyard birds are well adapted to being able to sense whether a particular patch is worth investigating and probing beneath its surface.

Eastern bluebird eating worms

Do birds use their feet to find bugs?

Birds can feel vibrations beneath the soil surface with their feet, which guide them to exactly where they need to go, and then use their beaks to pierce the ground and grab individual earthworms.

Birds may also be attracted to freshly turned flower beds or areas of soil, knowing that disturbed soil is a good source of fresh worms.

They also look for worm patterns on Earth’s surface, and can spot even the slightest movement on the ground from a distance, which could indicate earthworms nearby.

Birds have highly developed hearing and can tune in to sounds inaudible to humans. This includes the sound of worms moving on the sides of their tunnels through the Earth.

By listening carefully, usually with the head tilted slightly, the bird will detect the presence of any nearby worms, even those that are invisible on the ground.

Male blackbird looking for worms in the grass

Can Birds Smell Bugs?

Most birds don’t have a particularly strong sense of smell, and tracking scents isn’t a critical factor in backyard birds foraging for any food source. Since birds rely on touch, hearing and vision to find worms beneath the surface, smell plays a minor role.

Which Birds Eat Bugs?

There are more birds that don’t eat bugs than those that do. Doves, goldfinches, hawks, owls, and hawks do not eat worms. But many regular visitors to backyard lawns are known for patiently scanning the lawn before sticking their beaks to the ground with a wriggling earthworm in their mouths.

birds that eat bugs in america

The American robin is one of the top worm lovers in the bird world. Earthworms make up about 40 percent of the diet of American robins, and studies show they can find and eat 20 worms an hour. This equates to about 14 feet of worms in one day.

Earthworms are an important part of mourning doves, bluerobins, robins and barn swallows. Turkeys, chickens, and pheasants are also avid foragers of earthworms.

bird that eats bugs in uk

Thrushes, robins and thrushes are the UK’s biggest earthworm lovers. Even seagulls have been observed flying behind machines tilling fields, pulling worms out of freshly turned soil.

American Robin pulls a worm out of the ground

Do Birds Eat Live Worms?

Birds eat live worms and hunt them based on sensing sound and movement. Dead worms go unnoticed by birds foraging for earthworms. Dead worms will quickly begin to decompose and may contain many poisonous parasites, and the smell is repulsive to birds.

How many worms does a bird eat in a day?

The American robin is one of the most prolific insectivorous birds, eating about 20 worms an hour. That’s the same as a worm about 14 feet a day.

Free-range chickens will find about 10 worms per day, while worm-based free-range chickens will be fed 50 to 150 worms per day.

American robin listening to robins on the ground

Why do birds hunt for bugs after rain?

You may have noticed an immediate increase in the activity of hopeful, worm-hunting birds in your lawn or flower beds after a period of rain. Wet weather causes a series of vibrations in the ground that cause the worms to be attracted to the surface.

The original theory was that this was to keep the underground tunnels from flooding. However, other research supports the idea that worms rely on moisture to move across the ground, making it easier to move across wet, slippery grass than to tunnel through the soil below the surface.

Hearing the vibrations of rainwater on the Earth’s surface may fool the worms into thinking they are under threat from subterranean predators such as moles. Surfacing will give them a better chance of survival – until they encounter the waiting beak of a robin or blackbird!

European robin eating worm

What are the benefits of eating bugs for birds?

Earthworms are rich in protein, which is especially important for hatchlings and birds feeding young. The protein content accounts for 60% to 70% of the nematode’s body weight. Earthworms also provide amino acids, essential fats, vitamins, and the minerals iron, zinc, and riboflavin.