Avians and Acorns

Ah, fall. What a lovely time of year! The leaves lose their chlorophyll (which means they turn pretty autumn colors), the air becomes brisk, and animals start storing foods in various places. You’re probably questioning my title for this snippet of juicy animal/plant facts. Why on Earth would anyone put these two things together? Well, the answer is quite simple. Okay wait, it’s actually not that simple. Prepare yourself for learning!

During all times of the year, birds eat food. Pretty obvious, huh. Some birds, like the Eastern Phoebe and the Eastern Bluebird, like to eat native fruits of Texas. These birds will take the fruit and fly off to eat and enjoy its snack. After a while, it defecates. The seeds of the fruit will then be dispersed in a different location from before, helping the tree populate an area. Although, many birds eat the Mistletoe plant believing it is delicious, only to have -um- a very bad case of tummy trouble. This is how many fruit trees and/or trees with seeds get spread around.
Another way trees get planted by birds is by the help of the very smart, and very flashy Blue Jay. Once they have found an acorn or a nut of some sort, they will fly around and find a good location to hide it. They use their gular pouch (a pouch of extra skin in the bird’s upper esophagus) to carry the nut while they use their beak to dig a little hole in the dirt. They will then hide the acorn and come back to eat it later! Unfortunately for the birds, they bury too many for themselves to ever eat. So, the acorn will grow on its own into a beautiful tree.

Many foods are actually poisonous to birds, so here is a list of some common household foods you should not feed your pet bird: acorns (only some birds can eat these, it is mostly wild species), almonds, apple seeds, avocado and alcohol. Pet birds do tend to live a long time, especially parrots. If you want to get a pet bird to accompany you on your wildlife exploration, make sure to research your preferred species. Parrots and other bird species can live up to 50 years in captivity, and lots of people just release their bird out into the wild.

Never release an animal that has been a pet for its whole life into the wild. The animal will not know how to find food or take care of itself. It will also scare the heck out of someone if a big ‘ole parrot landed on their shoulder. I have seen a conure in Texas, and it was trying to fit in with some pigeons. Don’t make your pet bird feel left out, just make sure you really want a bird and know the responsibility that comes with it.

Remember to look out for birds on their mission to find food! Many birds like seeds and fruit, so set up a bird feeder, and watch the birds fly with the autumn leaves.