Explore the Outdoors!
Read all about the animals you can find right at your doorstep! From the smallest birds to reptiles and rodents!
Producers are organisms that get their energy from their environment, for example, from the sun or from breaking down chemical compounds. Decomposers are a type of consumer that break down organic matter into simple chemical nutrients essential for producers. Even though different bird species have different diets, they are all consumers. In ecology, consumers are…
Magpies are omnivorous birds that are native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. They are easily recognizable by their black and white plumage, and their long tail. Magpies eat a wide variety of food items, including seeds, nuts, worms, small animals and carrion. If available, they actually prefer to eat animals due to their higher…
Hawks are carnivorous birds of prey that hunt small mammals like mice and gophers. They are at the top of the food chain in their ecosystem and play an important role in controlling the population of these small animals. Hawks are carnivores and tertiary consumers, which means they exclusively eat other animals that are primary…
Pigeons are interesting creatures that have adapted to live in cities alongside humans. Pigeons and birds are omnivores, which means they will eat almost anything. However, in the wild, their diet consists of seeds, insects, fruits and plants. It also varies a bit between species, but here I will focus on the rock pigeon most…
Most garden birds are omnivores with a diet that include everything from seeds and fruits, to insects and smaller animals. Therefore, larger backyard birds will eat tadpoles as a part of their diet if accessible to them. In fact, many garden birds will actively seek out tadpoles to eat if you have a source…
There are many different animals that can be found living in bushes. Some of these animals are mammals, such as mice and other rodents, but most are insects and the birds that eat them! Animals that can be found in bushes include caterpillars, spiders, beetles, flies, and other insects such as roaches and bees,…
The American goldfinch is a small garden bird commonly found in large flocks throughout the US, southern Canada, and central Mexico. Their natural habitat is open meadows, but they often flock to bird feeders in suburban areas. Even though American goldfinches do occasionally eat smaller insects such as aphids and ants, goldfinches do not eat…
Magpies, like other birds of the Corvid family (including crows and ravens), are omnivores and eat a variety of food items. This includes their babies, that mostly eat insects in their first weeks of life. Adult magpies feed on a broad diet of smaller animals, eggs, seeds, and carrion and they will even attack larger…
Cardinals have a varied diet that includes seeds and nuts such as peanuts. Whereas they prefer unshelled peanuts, they are often seen carrying away whole peanuts from bird feeders. Cardinals can indeed eat whole unshelled peanuts because they are able to open the shell and reach the peanuts inside. They do this with their short,…
Cardinals are common backyard birds in North America that gladly come to eat at your bird feeder. They eat smaller seeds, nuts, and even suet and fruit. You might also have trees in your yard that the cardinal enjoys sitting in, and it can eat the seeds of some trees when they ripen in fall.…
