Birds across the grasslands of the planet take advantage of the movement of large herbivores to catch their prey.
It is a wonderful sight to see a flock of swallows swooping above a mob of cattle devouring any insect that unwisely decides to take to the air. It is less inspiring to watch ibis forage for dung beetles but the principle is the same.
I have heard of farmers attempting to mimic this behaviour using egg or meat birds trailing a mob of cattle but I am sceptical. Cattle move so quickly compared to domesticated birds that I imagine they would soon leave them far behind. I would be very happy to be proven wrong but until then we will leave the job to the wild birds.
