What do birds eat in winter? | Learn the winter diets of some North American birds!
You might be surprised at what some birds can find to eat in winter! Read on to learn more!
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The winter diet of birds
Often, when we think of birds feeding in wintertime, we restrict our thoughts to birds appearing at bird feeders or eating seeds and berries still clinging to their summer stems. While a large number of north-wintering species do utilize bird feeders and natural seed sources, seeds do not satisfy all birds in winter. What do these birds eat? Depending upon the species, some birds continue to feed on arthropods like spiders and insects, while others feed on various worms. Below, I highlight four very different species of birds with a considerable variety in their winter diet.
Red-breasted Nuthatch Winter Diet
During the winter, studies have shown that Red-breasted Nuthatches keep a high percentage of arthropods in their diet. In a study in Oregon, Red-breasted Nuthatches were found to have a diet of approximately 56% beetles (34% leaf beetles, 22% weevils), 18% sedges, and 26% other food items.
Red-breasted Nuthatches are well-known food cachers. They cache both seeds and arthropods, though seeds are often cached more frequently. Locations cached food has been found include: in crevices, under bark, or in holes created by sapsuckers. They have also been known to cache in the ground (we have documented this behavior at the roost!). There are also studies documenting Red-breasted Nuthatches covering caches with tiny fragments of bark, lichen, or small rocks, presumably to conceal food from competitors. Approximately half of the caches, in some studies, were covered. The cover is typically obtained without the bird having to leave the cache. Some species, like Hairy Woodpeckers, may watch caching nuthatches to find and pilfer caches when they are unattended. Who knew Hairy Woodpeckers were such scoundrels? Me. I did.
Attract more nuthatches with Orange Delight Suet!
Red-breasted Nuthatch Range Map
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Winter Diet
In winter, rosy-finches feed almost exclusively on seeds. In the two most-observed subspecies of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, the fall and winter diet is known to consist of Russian thistle, wild grass, mustards, sunflowers, Whitlow grass, willowweed, spring beauty, and bear grass. Even if you do not know what those are, you can see they are all likely plant names. Spring beauty might be the exception to an exclusive plant name, but a quick Google search would reveal that it is indeed a plant and not a champion horse or pig. (It's worth a peek.)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Range Map
Use a ground feeder to attract rosy-finches and other winter finches!
Brown Creeper Winter Diet
The Brown Creeper, a name synonymous with terrible bathroom jokes, is a largely insectivorous species that resides in some of the harshest locales in the country. Yet, in wintertime, their diet is comprised chiefly of arthropods. In one wintertime study, Brown Creepers were found to have stomach contents consisting of 34% aphids/leafhoppers, 23% true bugs, 12% beetles, 12% spiders, 4% ants/bees, 4% unknown insect fragments, 3% other, 6% corn, 2.0% mast, and 0.4% unknown vegetable matter. I frequently find only 0.4% unknown vegetable matter in my diet, so I understand the ambiguous label by the researchers who put that study together.
Brown Creeper Range Map
Horned Lark Winter Diet
The Horned Lark is the final species of interest in this winter diet post. For this barren-loving bird, seeds are 80-100% of the wintertime diet. Short and simple. That means this article is over, right? Not quite. How could I not include this little fact about Horned Larks showing high feeding rates associated with fallouts of invertebrates, especially true flies, on snowfields? You would have been left with an empty hole without that little bit of information! Mission complete.
Horned Lark Range Map
A mixed winter diet for birds
Arthropods are hardier than often credited; that much is clear. Because arthropods are an available food source, even in winter, some birds can still have a high animal protein diet during the worst of conditions. Now, when your birding friends ask what birds eat in wintertime, you can say, "I do not know. A lot?" It is a great answer. Kind of.
Go enjoy your winter diet. Thanks for reading. Oh, and subscribe to this site!
Want to feed winter birds? Use birdseed that is known for attracting birds!
Best Winter Birdseed: Black Oil Sunflower Seed
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References
Beason, R. C. (2020). Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.horlar.01
Ghalambor, C. K. and T. E. Martin (2020). Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rebnut.01
MacDougall-Shackleton, S. A., R. E. Johnson, and T. P. Hahn (2020). Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gcrfin.01
Poulin, J., É. D'Astous, M. Villard, S. J. Hejl, K. R. Newlon, M. E. McFadzen, J. S. Young, and C. K. Ghalambor (2020). Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.brncre.01
