 Songbirds
It's no wonder that bird feeding ranks only second to gardening as America's favorite pastime. Birds are fun and entertaining to watch, and bring color and song to our homes all year long.
- The U.S. Congress has endorsed February as National Wild Bird Feeding Month.
- Nuthatches are very acrobatic birds and are equally at home climbing headfirst up or down a tree.
- Male Cardinals are the first birds to start singing in spring, sometimes as early as mid-February. Cardinals also mate for life.
- The Brown-Headed Cowbird has been known to throw out the eggs of other nesting birds and replace them with its own. The nesting bird, unaware of the switch, goes on to raise the cowbird's chicks.
- The male mockingbird may sing up to 30 different bird songs in a 10-minute period.
- The catbird has a call very similar to a kitten's cry.
- Woodpeckers have four toes - two facing forward and two facing back. This helps them to climb on trees.
- Starlings can fly up to 55 mph, twice as fast as most common backyard birds.
- Chimney Swifts drink on the fly by scooping water from the surface of ponds and pools.
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 Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are one of the world's most beautiful and fascinating birds to attract and feed.
- The smallest hummingbird, the 2-1/4 inch Cuban Bee, weighs only two grams. The largest hummingbird, the 8-1/2 inch long Patagonia, weighs less than an ounce.
- The hummingbirds' wings beat over 75 times a second.
- Hummingbirds have an incredibly high metabolic rate and consume 1-1/2 times their weight in food each day.
- Hummingbirds can hover as well as fly sideways, backwards and even upside down.
- Some hummingbirds travel over 2000 miles when migrating from Mexico to Alaska.
- The Ruby-Throated hummingbird's nest is one-inch in diameter.
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Orioles
It's no wonder that more bird enthusiasts than ever are feeding orioles. Orioles are easy to attract and bring unsurpassed color and song to any yard or garden.
- There are nine species of orioles in North America: Altamira, Audubon, Baltimore, Bullock's, Hooded, Orchard, Scott's, Streak-Backed and Spot-Breasted.
- The eastern Baltimore and western Bullock's were once lumped together as the Northern oriole. They have been recently reclassified as two separate species.
- Orioles nest in most of the 48 lower states and southern Canada.
- Their diet consists mainly of insects, but they also enjoy fruit and nectar from flowers and feeders. They are particularly fond of fresh oranges and grape and apple jelly.
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