Sunflower seeds are the best food for birds in all respects. You have learnt this and took all the care of placing them in your bird feeder or planted them. But now, you are wondering, how do birds know I planted sunflower seeds? This article is all about that.
Birds would know about planted sunflower seeds by their vision of recognizing the seeds. Some birds have sense of smell. Birds also use learning and memory to find the seeds and they communicate to other birds about availability of food, not sunflower seeds specifically.
Most of the birds usually lack a sense of smell. Of course, they can smell, but the sense of smell isn’t that strong, so vision plays an important role in finding food. Birds use learning and memory to find the seeds. Once they find the source, then they bring their mate and also their flock to have food. Even after several years, birds can still remember where they found the seeds and even remember how a particular feeder looks. Aside from sharing their food, this behavior also helps to reduce the risk of predation.
Well, there are some exceptions, such as parrots, kiwi, vultures, as they have a strong sense of smell. To find food or a safe place, birds are exploring places and even a small territory. So, it becomes easy for them to find food. In the case of searching for food, birds recognize things the same way as humans do. So, if you want to feed birds, you will have to put some seeds on the ground for them to spot.
What if they forget?
This is the common question people generally ask! Well, there is no way for a bird to forget after they know where the food is. When they find food, it is obvious for them to call their flock or mate. But, when the uninvited birds show up, then their fight over the food begins. Of course, birds fight for food too, and when there are threat calls, other birds join the party. Due to this, you may hear a lot of noise, which also becomes a hint for other birds to find food. Once birds find the food source, then they visit it often.
How many times do birds visit for food?
It may be shocking to know, but birds always have an eye on you if you have planted sunflower seeds. Birds are one of the most curious creatures on the planet, so they always wander at places for food and shelter. Birds who eat seeds, remember where the plants containing seeds are and visit them often. Even if you have a feeder, they will act the same. They are always checking out for their food and also find new sources of food on a regular basis.
Even if you visit the space where you planted the sunflower plants, they are going to keep a watch on it. Usually, they watch, listen and visit the place where we keep the food for them. If you still wonder how do birds know I planted sunflower seeds, then this can also be the answer. They visit the place of food, and because of this, many birds follow them in search of the same.
What kind of birds do the sunflower seeds attract?
The sunflower heads attract several beautiful birds, such as grosbeaks, jays, buntings, juncos, goldfinches, and titmice. Apart from these, there are cardinals, chickadees, bluebirds, finches, blackbirds, and many more. They usually travel a lot in winters in search of food. Sunflowers are very attractive for the insects pollinating and blooming flowers. Additionally, they are also a good source of food for birds during winters. In summers, the seeds of sunflower grow. Then there are chances for many birds from a local territory to gather and feed on them.
How do birds know what’s edible and what’s not?
Generally, birds learn how to eat from their mothers and by watching others. They also have a sense of listening and smelling because they can find food and eat. They know what food is edible while watching their mothers and others. So, they learn how to eat and what to eat by observations. Robins are good at hearing underground, so they can spot worms to feed on them.
Crows and seagulls are the birds who observe and eat while experimenting on human food items. Generally, this knowledge gets passed on, and they learn from these observations.
Do birds have taste buds?
Birds do have taste buds and eating preferences. Well, you may think that the beaks of birds are hard and impermeable. But, the taste buds occupied inside some of the birds, such as ducks, reveal that they can sense the taste of different food. We can find in several kinds of research that many caterpillars have been spit out by birds. This is because of their taste preferences.
Hummingbirds are the type of birds that can taste many concentrations of sugars. At the same time, sandpipers are the birds that can taste the presence of caterpillars in the mud pads. A duck has more than 400 taste buds, while the number of taste buds in other birds still differs. Of course, birds do not have as many taste buds as humans do, but they still have preferences over food.
What flavors do birds can taste?
The sense of taste in birds is not well refined because they hardly have 50 to 500 taste buds. Even though they can taste sweet, sour, and bitter food, they can prefer which type of food item is more suitable and nutritious. Birds also use their other senses like hearing to locate their food because of their poor sense of taste. Sense of taste may also differ from species to species.
Many bird lovers are very excited to plant sunflowers for birds to feed their seeds. They also try various methods for them to get attracted. Well, many people think that how do birds know I planted sunflower seeds? Birds find the source of food by sight, hearing, and following other birds. Sunflower seeds are very nutritious and are rich in vitamins and B complex. Minerals like – calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron are also present in the seeds. Then fibers, protein, and polyunsaturated fats are also present in those seeds.
With a bit of planning, when your sunflower ripens, you can easily harvest the sunflower heads, which for sure the backyard birds would appreciate. By carefully saving the seeds, this can become a big source of winter food that is ideal for visiting birds to get their whole nutrition.