Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!oliveb!oliven!mjm
From: mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Fly-Eating Birds
Message-ID: <28920@oliveb.olivetti.com>
Date: 12 Sep 88 16:50:59 GMT
References: <12300002@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@oliveb.olivetti.com
Lines: 22

In article <12300002@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, carey@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes:
 > 
 > My horse attracts a lot of flies.  Are there any birds that eat flies?
 > 
 > How can I attract them?
 > 
 > The common birds are sparrows, grackles, robins, there are a few 
 > barn swallows.  Do any of these eat flies?

 	Barn Swallows are insect eaters and would probably love feeding
around a concentration of flies. They also readily nest on building walls
that offer a sheltering overhang (they will nest inside or outside of a
building; or even under it if it is raised). Other birds that could be of
some help in this type of habitat are Kingbirds (eastern or western; I'm
not sure which one would predominate in your area) and Say's Phoebe. However,
I'm not sure how to attract these.

	On a side note, the fantastic shorebird migration continues out here
on the west coast, with a Eurasian Dotterel at Point Reyes and a Bar-Tailed
Godwit along Monterey Bay.

Mike