Cavity-Nesting Birds of North American Forests: Agriculture Handbook 511 — John Shaqi
Cavity-Nesting Birds of North American Forests: Agriculture Handbook 511Scott, Virgil E.
Science
Cavity-Nesting Birds of North American Forests: Agriculture Handbook 511
Scott, Virgil E.
Birds -- Nests; Birds -- North America; Cavity-nesting birds -- North America; Forest birds -- North America
Food: Bewick’s wrens, like other wrens, eat large numbers of insects
that are injurious to vegetation. Ninety-seven percent of the diet is
insects, including primarily hemiptera and coleoptera. In the South they
are credited with eating boll weevils (Bent 1948).
Carolina wren
_Thryothorus ludovicianus_
L 4¾″
[Illustration]
Habitat: Carolina wrens are common in forest types with thick underbrush
throughout the eastern United States. The number in northern populations
fluctuates widely depending on the harshness of winter conditions.
Nest: Carolina wrens are quite universal in their choice of nesting
sites. These wrens prefer nesting sites that are fairly well enclosed,
but they are not totally dependent upon cavities. They are well adapted
to habitat conditions provided by man, but also nest in the woods where
they prefer tangles and brushy undergrowth. Nests have been found in
natural cavities, mailboxes, newspaper cylinders, old hornet nests, and
bird houses (Laskey 1948, Nice and Thomas 1948).
Food: Animal food, mostly insects, makes up 93 percent of the Carolina
wren’s diet. Of this, beetles, caterpillars, and moths comprise the
largest portion. The 7 percent vegetable material is mostly seeds taken
in the winter. Since the Carolina wren feeds mostly on or near the
ground, deep snow is detrimental to survival. They will visit feeding
stations if placed near brush piles (Bent 1948).
Eastern bluebird
_Sialia sialis_
L 5½″
[Illustration]
Habitat: Under natural conditions, eastern bluebirds prefer to use
cavities in savannah-like habitats east of the Great Plains (Rustad
1972). They are an edge species and therefore do not live in dense woods
or in closely built residential sections of town (Thomas 1946). Like
purple martins, bluebirds have taken advantage of nest boxes provided in
areas around farms, near open fields, and in orchards.
Nest: Eastern bluebird nesting sites (snags) are often eliminated
because of their unsightliness or interference with cultivation. When
available, eastern bluebirds nest in old woodpecker holes, hollows of
decayed trees, and crevices of rocks (Pearson 1936). They will readily
take to hollows in wooden fence posts or correctly sized and placed nest
boxes (5 × 5 × 8 inches high with a 1.5-inch hole located 6 inches from
the bottom). Boxes should be placed 5 to 10 feet above the ground at the
edge of a forest opening or field.
Food: Eastern bluebirds consume 70 percent animal matter and 30 percent
vegetable matter. Vegetable intake increases to more than 50 percent in
December and January, but is completely lacking in May. Animal matter
includes grasshoppers, crickets and katydids, various coleoptera, moths
and caterpillars, some hymenoptera and hemiptera, as well as various
other invertebrates and small vertebrates. Vegetable matter is mostly
wild fruits (Bent 1949).
Western bluebird
_Sialia mexicana_
L 5½″
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