Listening for Worms

As visitor Mike noted a few days ago we seem to have a lot of Robins this year - large flocks. I spent some time watching some of these birds the other day and was able to capture a bit of their hunting technique. Robins like to eat insects and worms. We all know this having seen that classic cartoon subject of the bird (usually a Robin) pulling a worm out of the ground. Robin is the "early bird" that gets the worm. What may not be so widely known is that Robins use more than their eyes to locate their prey. They also find worms by listening for the sounds they make as they move underground. If you watch Robins closely you will see them take two or three hops then cock their heads to one side for a few seconds and then to the other side for a few seconds. If they hear something they will dig it up with their beaks, otherwise they take another few hops and repeat the process, listening first to one side then to the other. It must take very sharp hearing and intense concentration to hear such tiny sounds.