Do Fish Eat Birds?

It’s something that seems unnatural, but yes, many species of fish do eat birds. These predatory fish are not just limited to large exotic species, there are plenty of bird eating fish close to home. In fact, you probably have a species or two swimming in a river or pond near you. If you’re an angler, there’s a good chance you’ve caught some fish that prey on birds.

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Pike and Musky Eat Ducks

Pike and musky are the two largest members of the Esox family. They are often the top predators in the rivers and lakes they live in, and are voracious predators. Musky will strike prey over half their size, and that doesn’t stop at just fish. Birds, frogs, snakes, mice, and rats can all be taken by a pike or musky. Fully grown musky can even take muskrats and young beavers.

Perhaps the most commonly preyed upon birds by Pike and Musky are ducks and goslings (young geese). Pardon the pun, but they are quite literally sitting ducks. Young ducklings have few ways to detect a pike stalking them from under the water.

Ducks are so commonly eaten by these fish that there are even multiple duckling lures on the market. The most effective of which is the Savage Gear Topwater Duckling (Amazon Link).

While ducklings are routinely preyed upon, even fully grown waterfowl are preyed upon by these predatory fish on occasion. There’s even an instance of pike eating birds of prey. Okay so it’s not quite as impressive as taking down a fully grown eagle, but two bald eagle chicks were found partially digested in the stomachs of two separate pike. Likely chicks that fell out of a nest overhanging the water.

Catfish Eat Pidgeons

This one may come as a surprise, but catfish will actually grab unsuspecting birds off the shoreline. Often thought of as bottom feeders, many larger species of catfish are actually highly active predators. When the birds are feeding or drinking along the edge of the water, hungry catfish stalk and wait for their chance to strike.

Sadly (for the ducks), ducks are on the menu again for catfish. Catfish are opportunistic, and it doesn’t get much easier than snatching an unsuspecting duckling off the surface.

Giant Trevally Eats Sea Birds

There’s, of course, the famous scene from BBC’s Blue Planet II in which giant trevallys are hunting terns (a type of sea bird). These large fish can track the bird’s flight path from underwater before jumping clear of the water to grab them mid-flight.

The acrobatics were amazing from both the giant trevallys and the terns. An interesting fact about the scene is that the trevally would only target the young terns, ignoring the adults completely. They knew to only target the less experienced fliers for the best chance at grabbing a meal.

If you haven’t seen Blue Planet II, I highly recommend it. It’s narrated by David Attenborough, and is one of the best nature documentaries I’ve seen. Blue Planet II (Amazon Link).

Goliath Tiger Fish Eats Swallow Mid-Flight

This is another case of a large toothy fish grabbing a bird mid-flight. The fact that goliath tigerfish grabbed birds mid-flight was regarded as a fisherman’s tale for a while. That is until a group of scientist caught it on film.  It’s poor quality, but you can see the tiger fish jump clear of the water and grab a swallow in mid-flight.

Bass Eat Baby Birds

Bass are highly opportunistic predators. The splashing of an animal in distress gets the attention of bass as it’s obvious there’s an easy meal to be had. This splashing is typically a frog, dying fish, or even a mouse crossing the pond. Sometimes though, it’s a baby bird that has fallen out of their nest.

Baby birds fall out of nests all the time, and these nests are occasionally made in trees that overhang bodies of water. As with duck lures for pike mentioned above, this is a frequent enough occurrence that there are lures made that mimic a baby songbird. I’ve seen flies tied up to mimic a baby bird as well.

It’s largemouth bass specifically that are known for this, although I see no reason a smallmouth bass wouldn’t grab a baby robin if given the opportunity.

Final Thoughts

There are a surprising number of different fish species that prey on birds. I’m sure there are more than I listed here, with many perhaps not yet discovered by science. I suspect if a fish is big, predatory, agile enough, and feeds near the surface.. there’s a good chance they may feed on birds, even if only opportunistically.

The fact that so many fish prey on birds is an exciting realization as an angler. Topwater fishing is highly visual, can be explosive and exciting. Adding bird lures and flies to your arsenal gives you an exciting way to target large, predatory sport fish.