Seven types of plants are important as bird habitat:
_Conifers_
Conifers are evergreen trees and shrubs that include pines, spruces,
firs, arborvitae, junipers, cedars, and yews. These plants are
important as escape cover, winter shelter and summer nesting sites.
Some also provide sap, fruits and seeds.
_Grasses and Legumes_
Grasses and legumes can provide cover for ground nesting birds—but
only if the area is not mowed during the nesting season. Some grasses
and legumes provide seeds as well. Native prairie grasses are becoming
increasingly popular for landscaping purposes.
_Nectar-producing Plants_
Nectar-producing plants are very popular for attracting hummingbirds
and orioles. Flowers with tubular red corollas are especially
attractive to hummingbirds. Other trees, shrubs, vines and flowers
also can provide nectar for hummingbirds.
_Summer-fruiting Plants_
This category includes plants that produce fruits or berries from May
through August. In the summer these plants can attract brown
thrashers, catbirds, robins, thrushes, waxwings, woodpeckers, orioles,
cardinals, towhees and grosbeaks. Examples of summer-fruiting plants
are various species of cherry, chokecherry, honeysuckle, raspberry,
serviceberry, blackberry, blueberry, grape, mulberry, plum and
elderberry.
_Fall-fruiting Plants_
This landscape component includes shrubs and vines whose fruits ripen
in the fall. These foods are important both for migratory birds which
build up fat reserves before migration and as a food source for
nonmigratory species that need to enter the winter season in good
physical condition. Fall-fruiting plants include dogwoods, mountain
ash, winter-berries, cotoneasters and buffalo-berries.
_Winter-fruiting Plants_
Winter-fruiting plants are those whose fruits remain attached to the
plants long after they first become ripe in the fall. Many are not
palatable until they have frozen and thawed many times. Examples are
glossy black chokecherry, Siberian and “red splendor” crabapple,
snowberry, bittersweet, sumacs, American highbush cranberry, eastern
and European wahoo, Virginia creeper, and Chinaberry.
_Nut and Acorn Plants_
These include oaks, hickories, buckeyes, chestnuts, butternuts,
walnuts and hazels. A variety of birds, such as jays, woodpeckers and
titmice, eat the meats of broken nuts and acorns. These plants also
contribute to good nesting habitat.