What Is A Songbird

What Is A Songbird

Anyone who has taken a walk in the woods or in their local park in the spring has heard the melodies of the winged singers collectively known as songbirds. Warblers, tanagers, orioles, finches, and hundreds of other species make up this diverse group of birds. Songbirds are among the smallest of our birds and are also called perching birds, meaning they can hold tightly to branches with their toes.

Songbirds eat a wide variety of foods, including insects, seeds, berries, nectar, and fruit. Their appetite for insects helps farmers and foresters as songbirds annually consume millions of insects that if unchecked, could damage crops and trees. Some birds eat as many as 300 insects a day during the summer months. These beneficial species can be found in virtually every habitat in the forests, prairies, wetlands, deserts,plus many other places where you may not expect them to be. Many people enjoy feeding these fascinating creatures in their back yards and go bird watching in natural areas just to hear them sing.

While populations of many resident species of songbirds are relatively stable for example, the American Robin, other resident species are declining. Migrating birds face additional challenges and many of their populations are also in decline. Long-term observations show that the populations of many species of migratory birds that breed in North America and winter in Latin America and the Caribbean, are declining. Declines for some species have been precipitous and many birds are much less common today than they were in the recent past.

The breeding grounds, our landscape, is continuously changing as a result of human activities. In the eastern United States, large blocks of mature forests have been reduced to smaller patches or replaced with younger forests. Studies have shown that birds nesting in the remaining forest fragments are subject to higher rates of predation, competition, and nest parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird (which lays its eggs in the nests of other species). In the west, many migratory songbirds, such as the Endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, depend on riparian habitat, or the lush growth of shrubs and trees near rivers and streams.

Riparian areas are under continual pressure from water development projects, livestock grazing,and human population growth. Many of our prairie birds have suffered dramatic declines mainly as a result of conversion of native prairie to agricultural land. For example, Golden-cheeked warblers winter in an area of just a few thousand square miles.

Because of their localized distributions, tropical migrants are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss on the wintering grounds. This problem is acute in the Caribbean Basin, where vital island habitats are particularly threatened. In addition to the importance of breeding and wintering habitat, the habitat used during migration is also vital to migratory songbirds. For example, Cape May Point, New Jersey witnesses the passage of thousands of migratory songbirds each autumn. Similarly, in the spring, waves of songbirds arrive on the shores of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to feed after the long nonstop passage over the Gulf of Mexico. With each passing year, these migrants are finding fewer stopover areas where they can rest and refuel before continuing their journey north.

News

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