What birds eat ticks?

Chickens are second to guinea fowl in eating deer ticks. They are not as effective because they won't roam the property as guineas do. They like to scratch the ground, so chickens can damage gardens or landscaping. They are prey for animals such as coyotes since they don't move as quickly or fly as well as guinea fowl. read more

Some ground feeding birds (e.g. chickens, guinea hens, etc.) may ingest ticks as well. Birds preen and mammals groom ticks and other parasites off of themselves and others. Intuitively, many folks believe that such birds will reduce risk of ticks as they peck and eat ticks from the ground. read more

Wild birds are also enthusiastic tick eaters. You can attract insect-eating birds by planting "insectary" plants. Insectaries are plants such as dill, dutch white clover, and New England aster that attract large numbers of beneficial insects such as butterflies and bees. read more

Also called guinea hens, these birds eat ticks along with any other insect they can find on the ground. Deer ticks are a favorite cuisine for guinea fowl, along with (gulp!) snakes. read more