This is unrelated, except that taurine is involved. I post it here only because I just read it tonight, and thought it was fascinating, and taurine gives me the excuse.
From What It's Like to be a Bird (great book!):
"Chickadees mostly bring caterpillars to their newly hatched nestlings (they can collect over a thousand in a day), but for the first week or so after hatching the adults make special efforts to seek out spiders to feed their young. Spiders provide the nutrient taurine, which is essential for brain development and other functions."