Why Birds Are Useful for the Environment

4 min readSep 23, 2023

Birds are not only beautiful and fascinating creatures, but also vital for the health and balance of our ecosystems. They provide many benefits to humans and other living beings, such as pollinating plants, controlling pests, dispersing seeds, cleaning up carcasses, and fertilizing soils.

In this blog post, we will explore some of the ways that birds help the environment and why we should appreciate and protect them.

Birds Pollinate Plants

Many birds, especially hummingbirds and honeyeaters, have a special relationship with flowering plants. They feed on the nectar of the flowers and in return, they transfer pollen from one flower to another, enabling fertilization and reproduction.

Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash

Some plants depend entirely on birds for pollination, such as many species of orchids, proteas, and aloes. Birds also pollinate crops that humans use for food or medicine, such as bananas, coffee, cocoa, and vanilla. Without birds, many of these plants would not be able to produce seeds or fruits, and the diversity and beauty of our landscapes would be diminished.

Birds Control Pests

Birds are natural predators of many insects and rodents that can damage crops, forests, and gardens.

They consume millions of tons of bugs every year, reducing the need for pesticides and saving farmers money and resources. For example, birds eat up to 98% of corn insect pests in some areas and reduce grasshopper populations by 20–26%.

Birds also prey on mice, rats, gophers, squirrels, and other rodents that can spread diseases or destroy crops and infrastructure. Some farmers even use falcons or owls to scare away or hunt down pest birds that eat their grapes or other fruits.

Birds Disperse Seeds

Birds play a crucial role in spreading plant seeds across different habitats and regions. They eat fruits or berries that contain seeds and then fly away, dropping the seeds in their droppings or regurgitating them.

This way, they help plants colonize new areas, restore degraded ecosystems, and create diverse and resilient landscapes. Birds can also carry seeds over long distances, such as across oceans or mountains, introducing new plant species to isolated islands or remote areas.

Some plants have evolved seeds that are specially adapted to be dispersed by birds, such as those with hooks, barbs, or wings.

Birds Clean Up Carcasses

Some birds, such as vultures, eagles, crows, and ravens, feed on dead animals or carrion. They scavenge the remains of other animals that have died from natural causes or human activities, such as hunting or roadkill. By doing so, they prevent the spread of diseases and parasites that could infect humans or other animals.

They also recycle nutrients back into the soil and reduce the amount of waste in the environment. Birds are so efficient at cleaning up carcasses that they can remove up to 95% of the biomass within a few hours.

Birds Fertilize Soils

Birds also contribute to the fertility and quality of soils by depositing their droppings or guano. Bird droppings are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients that plants need to grow.

They can improve the water-holding capacity and structure of soils, making them more suitable for agriculture or gardening. Bird droppings can also fertilize coral reefs by providing nutrients to the algae that live in symbiosis with the corals.

Some bird droppings are so valuable that they have been harvested for centuries as a source of fertilizer or even explosives.

Conclusion

Birds are useful for the environment in many ways that we often take for granted or overlook. They help plants reproduce and diversify; they keep pests and diseases under control; they disperse seeds and restore ecosystems; they clean up carcasses and recycle nutrients; they fertilize soils and coral reefs.

Birds are essential for the functioning of our planet’s life support systems and for our own well-being. Therefore, we should respect and protect them from threats such as habitat loss, climate change, pollution, hunting, and invasive species.