Whales
Many birds hunt fish, but kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) go for the ultimate prey when they attack right whales. When a whale surfaces, the gulls swoop onto its body and tear away chunks of flesh and blubber. This can make for a fast, filling meal. Often, an entire gull flock may feed on a single whale. The frenzy doesn’t last long before the whale submerges.
Blood
Birds aren’t typically bloodthirsty, but in the Galapagos Islands, the sharp-beaked ground-finch (Geospiza difficilis) will readily sip blood. These small birds with delicate, pointed bills harass boobies and peck away at wounds on the larger birds’ feet. While blood is not their entire diet, it is a significant enough that these birds have earned the nickname “vampire finches.”
Bats
Killing mammals is the feeding strategy of large raptors. It is a remarkable surprise, then, that great **** (Parus major) hunt bats. These birds drag the roosting mammals out of cavities and beating them to death before feeding. Normally these insectivorous songbirds are mild-mannered, but when food is scarce in winter, they resort to this brutal hunting behavior.
Milk
Birds aren’t able to digest much milk, but blue **** (Cyanistes caeruleus) have learned what milk is best to sip. When milk bottles were delivered to porches, the birds learned to recognize the foil caps and pierced the tops to sip the cream. When different types of milk were present, the birds learned which colors would indicate whole milk with more cream to drink.