Despite the fact that winter is a difficult time for birds, city birds should be very carefully fed. Firstly, different species of birds eat different food, and secondly, switching completely to food from people, birds lose the skill of hunting in wildlife.
Types of birds wintering in the city
Before you start feeding birds wintering in the city, it is worth remembering that there are birds that are completely dependent in their diet on people (sparrows, pigeons and ducks), birds that can eat pasture, but prefer to accept help from people (tits living in park zones of woodpeckers), independent migratory birds (bullfinches, siskins, blackbirds). For the last two categories, food from humans can even be harmful.
Features of the diet of different birds
City pigeons are traditionally fed always, not only in winter. To feed pigeons, it is worth remembering that dough products (bread, crumbs from pies, pizza and other products) are not useful for them. The consumption of fried food greatly impairs the digestion processes and sends the body away. For pigeons, various cereals (pearl barley, millet, barley), oatmeal and raw seeds are most useful. Pigeons can eat from the ground, feeders are optional.
All types of cereals are suitable for sparrows, as for pigeons. A treat for these little birds can be simple. Sparrows can be fed "from the ground", but it is better to build a feeder for them, since very often pigeons manage to peck everything from the ground, before the arrival of the sparrows. Foods such as crumbs of white bread or loaves, fried or baked fatty dough are not recommended for sparrows.
Titmouses overwintering in cities often have a much stricter diet. They can be given low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat meat (only not smoked bacon, since it contains a large amount of salt harmful to birds), small pieces of apples, rose hips and barberries. Tits are originally birds that can do without human feeding: in winter titmice feed on the fruits of mountain ash, chokeberry, rose hips, remaining on bushes and trees.
Bullfinches often come to winter in cities, as you can find additional feeding here. Making feeders specifically for bullfinches is useless, since these birds are nomadic, but they can eat all the same food as tits. In addition to frozen berries, bullfinches like pumpkin and watermelon seeds, raw sunflower seeds, pieces of frozen butter.
City ducks, which do not fly away for the winter, are much less common than other birds. The white bread that these birds are usually fed with is not very healthy, but bread is the only food that does not sink in water. If possible, it is worth feeding the ducks with various types of cereals: millet, wheat, oatmeal or specialized feed for poultry (sold in pet stores or in online stores for farmers).
