Plants that attract chanting birds

Urban green areas offer many environmental services to the cities and the people living in them. Vegetation allows us to create micro-environments that work as a habitat and as animal nourishment, conserving biodiversity in urban environments. A group of animals present on green areas are birds, important not only because of their beauty, but for their role in the environment.

Plants and birds are intimately related. Through millions of years, they have evolved together originating mutual pairing, where plants produce fruit, flowers or seeds that serve as nourishment for birds, and birds serve for pollination and seed distribution. Food provided by plants for birds are variated. It can be sprouts, cortex exudate, leaves, flowers, pollen, nectar, fruit, pulp or seeds, depending on the species (De la Peña, 2016).

Definitely, birds have always attracted our attention, mainly because of their chanting. One of the best ways to enjoy bird chanting is by cultivating attractive plants for birds in our gardens. The best alternative is to choose native plants that originated from our region, as birds have formed their life cycle, including migrating, reproductive and nourishing habits suitable for native plants and seasonal fruits and their insects. Some exotic or introduced plants have been chosen for landscapes to attract birds. Nevertheless, we encourage you to choose native plants, for they adapt better into the environment, with low maintenance, and harborage creation for other native living organisms, biological corridors, and for the sense of belonging that they evoke.