Vampire bats aren’t the only creatures to make meals of blood. Many other species feast upon the wounds of their targets. Some are well known, of course. There’s mosquitoes, using needle-like snouts to prick skin and hoover up blood like a milkshake. Other bugs, like ticks and the aptly named vampire moth, also feast on blood, but so do certain bird species. For instance, the oxpecker eats ticks off the backs of rhinos and giraffes, but it specifically targets those that have already gorged themselves on blood. Effectively, that makes the oxpecker a sanguivore, as well.
Another, the vampire finch, lives in the Galapagos and feeds on the blood of other birds. They peck away at the tails or wings of blue footed boobies until they cause bleeding and then drink from the wound. What’s particularly fascinating about this behavior is that the birds they feed on don’t shoe them away. It’s believed that once in their history they provided a service, removing harmful insects from the other birds. Over time, however, in an evolutionary path likely mirroring vampire bats, they transitioned to an all blood diet.