Isn't literal yes it's metaphore, everything is metaphore - the meetings with angels, flyin on the horse that have human head, speaking with ants and birds - everything isn't literal and metaphore
Hudhud part - Solomon's army had men, jinns and birds in it, so yes he was talking about bird, not about someone's nickname, in Quran (27:20)Solomon reviewed his birds and found the hoopoe (hud-hud) missing.
http://quran.com/27/20 - the prove is here,
"And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?", even on arab its about birds "وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لَا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ" , or you want to tell me that Solomon was looking for his men in a flock of birds?!
Ants part - it's pretty simple, it's forbidden to kill ants in islam "Since early Antiquity, ants have been an object of admiration on account of the feverish activity with which they provide for their sustenance and the perfect organisation of their societies." Hadith literature tells of the Prophet Muhammad forbidding Muslims to kill the ant, bee, hoopoe, or shrike, so yes he was talking about real ant, not about men
you are typical religion-defender who'd like to mislead people
let's go further:
The earth is flat and mountains
Qur'an 15:19
"Waal-arda madadnahawaalqayna feeha rawasiya waanbatnafeeha min kulli shay-in mawzoonin
And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance. "
Once again - mountains were created by the movement of the tectonic plates, case closed, it's a science, it's a FACT, hate it or love it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_formation
As for earth - earth is a sphere, you can't spread out anything on it as the crow flies