Subject: [Tweeters] Does anything eat snowberry?
Date: Dec 4 09:22:43 2006
From: Wayne C. Weber - contopus at telus.net


Tweeters,

One of the best sources of information on bird use of berries
and other plant foods is "American Wildlife and Plants" by
Martin, Zim and Nelson, originally published in 1951, and
(I believe) still in print as a Dover reprint.

According to this book, snowberries (genus Symphoricarpos)
are indeed eaten by quite a variety of bird species. Passerine
species listed as eating snowberries include Pine Grosbeak,
American Robin, Varied Thrush, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak,
Black-billed Magpie, Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Spotted
Towhee, Warbling Vireo, and Wrentit. Of these species, the first
three use snowberries extensively, i.e., they make up more than 5%
of the diet at least in some places and times.

Upland gamebirds (including Spruce, Ruffed, and Sharp-tailed Grouse,
Ring-necked Pheasants, Greater Prairie Chickens, and N. Bobwhites)
were also frequent users of snowberry, although for some species,
this included buds as well as berries.

The data reported in Martin et al. refer to all species of snowberries
combined, of which there are about 12 species in the US and Canada.
However, the common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) is
probably the most common and widespread of the snowberries,
and it seems likely that much or most of the bird use refers to this
species.

My impression is that, despite this fairly long list of birds that eat
snowberries, they are not a preferred food for most frugivorous birds,
and I suspect that most berries fall to the ground before they get eaten.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net





----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Hobbs" <birdmarymoor at verizon.net>
To: "Rob Sandelin" <floriferous at msn.com>; "'Tweeters'"
<tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Does anything eat snowberry?


I have seen American Robins eat snowberry, and I'm pretty sure I've seen
something else (Golden-crowned Sparrows???, Cedar Waxwing?) My
understanding is that they are a food of last resort for the birds, but they
usually get eaten by someone by the end of winter.

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland, WA
== http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== birdmarymoor at verizon.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob Sandelin
To: 'Tweeters'
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 9:26 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Does anything eat snowberry?


There is this mystery I have yet to figure out, the snowberry holds its
white clusters of berries until about now, then in short order, they all
seem to disappear,yet I have never seen any bird or anything else eat them
and they do not fall off. So is it aliens, elves or helfalumps? I'd love
to hear of any bird sightings consuming these berries.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer
The Environmental Science School
http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm