Spanish sparrows eating swarming termites (Insecta : Isoptera)

Abstract

The sparrows hopped over the ground, stopping at intervals to capture a helpless termite. Generally, the termite was picked off the ground and eaten immediately, but the two females which were feeding fledglings were seen gathering several termites and holding them in their bill. It was noticed that most of the birds did not attempt to catch termites while in flight, but tried to locate helpless grounded termites. On one occasion, however, a male was seen flying horizontally to catch a termite (in the bill) which was hovering close to the ground. In addition, a female was seen trying to catch a termite by picking it off the soil. The termite managed to fly off. The female Spanish Sparrow promptly picked up a dead leaf and held it in her bill for about one second.