The young are fed mainly insects at first, to provide them with protein.
With the canopy gone, sunlight causes algae to grow, which feeds insects.
These birds feed insects, small fish and some seeds in wet ground or in shallow water.
"It turns out that their needs in fall are very different than in summer, when they're feeding insects to their young."
The mother bird feeds her young regurgitated seeds and insects as they grow.
They feed on mostly fruit, leaves, shoots, insects, and crops.
In the wild, the adults' diet consists of seeds, but they feed insects to nestlings.
The young are fed insects and some fruit.
The denisities of most flower feeding insects appears to be generally much lower than their used to be.
Flower feeding insects rely on radiant heat from the direct sun to fly, and a lack of a cooling wind.