Do Birds Pollinate? (All You Need To Know)

Without external factors, such as being blown by the wind or being carried by insects, pollen grains cannot transfer themselves to the stigmas of other plants or flowers.

Without this assistance, pollination would not occur and reproduction of plant life would not be possible. We all know the importance of bees in pollination, but do birds also help pollinate plants? Read on to learn more.

The role of birds as pollinators is often overlooked in favor of the role of bees, which many may think are solely credited with spreading pollen and helping plants reproduce. But birds also play a key role in carrying pollen between flowers when they chase insects or drink nectar.

Pollination by birds is known as orvophilia. Nectar-eating birds such as hummingbirds, honeyeaters and sunbirds are critical to the ornithological process. When a bird feeds on nectar, the pollen sticks to its beak and the feathers around its head and back. This pollen is carried to the next flower it visits, where it is wiped off and pollination occurs.

While birds do play an important role in pollination, how valuable is their contribution to the annual crop cycle of the plants on which our own diet depends?

The pollination of certain plants, including most commercially grown crops, relies on bees rather than birds for the successful production of fruit and vegetables each year, and any role played by birds is considered incidental or relatively minor.

To learn how birds match up with bees in pollination piles, read on.

Hummingbirds are one of the important species for ornithophilia (bird pollination)

How do birds pollinate seeds?

Pollination is the transfer of powdery pollen grains (or seeds) from the male part (the stamen) of one flower to the female reproductive organ (called the pistil, which consists of the stigma, style and ovary) of another flower.

Fertilization occurs when pollen grains are transferred to the receptive surface of the flower’s stigma, ultimately leading to the reproduction of more plants.

Birds that feed on flowers, nectar, and berries, and even perch on flowering plants or trees that bloom, aid in the pollination process in a crucial way. Every time a bird touches a flower, pollen grains rub onto its beak, feathers and feet. These grains are then carried to the next plant they visit, where they are transferred and pollination occurs.

Nectar-eating birds play a vital and direct role in the pollination of thousands of wildflowers, using their needle-like beaks to stop the nectar deep inside long, tubular flowers and deposit it on each new flower they feed on. Transfer pollen grains. The red-petaled flowers, in particular, are attractive to hummingbirds.

Rufus hummingbird feeds on pollen from beak

What types of birds are pollinators?

Nectar-eating birds are the main pollinators, with hummingbirds passing from flower to flower in search of a sweet solution that satisfies the energy needed to maintain their extremely fast metabolism.

Likewise, honeyeaters and sunbirds also aid in the pollination process, collecting nectar and transferring pollen when flowers stop to feed. Other birds—orioles, finches, and some woodpeckers—occasionally eat nectar as well.

Not eating nectar doesn’t exclude birds from the pollination process, and more than 2,000 bird species are classified as pollinators in some form. Rainforest parrots, such as lorikeets, eat fresh flowers and transfer pollen grains each time they find a different food source.

Birds that feed on vegetable crops also play a role in pollination, spreading the pollen produced by flowers from plant to plant.

Birds that feed on insects on flowers also make an important contribution to pollination, perhaps inadvertently, grazing flowers as they grab bugs and moving any tiny pollen grains as they move between flowers.

Sunbirds are also important in pollination

Do birds pollinate more than bees?

According to research, bees pollinate about 80 percent of the world’s crops, including fruits, vegetables and nuts. Capable of visiting over 1,500 flowers per day, bees deserve their crown as top pollinators.

Although birds play an important role in the pollination of thousands of plant species in some 60 wildflower families, there are no commercially grown crops that rely on bird pollination (bird pollination). However, birds are critical to the survival and dispersal of many plant species, with approximately 8,000 plant species in the Americas dependent on hummingbirds for pollination.

Nectar-feeding Eastern Thornybill, Australia

Do Birds Need Bees?

The contribution of bees to the pollination of many plants that are critical to the survival of thousands of bird species is undeniable. Birds that feed on fruit and berries directly benefit from successful pollination, which is made possible by bees flying among the flowers of fruit trees and shrubs.

Without bees, the survival and landscape diversity of thousands of plant species around the world would be severely reduced. This will inevitably have a negative knock-on effect on the future of the birds as they have fewer food sources and degrade the habitats in which they live and forage.

Honey bees are an important part of the diet of some birds, especially bee-eaters, thrushes and swifts. Woodpeckers also target beehives if given the chance, and bee larvae are an important part of the bee’s diet.

It’s no surprise that bee-eaters include bees as part of their diet

Do birds disperse seeds in droppings?

Berry-eating birds are instrumental in helping pollinate many fruit trees and disperse seeds over large swathes of land.

When birds eat berries and other fruits, any seeds they swallow then drain to the ground, where they have a chance to take root and develop into plants.

Migratory birds have the ability to carry seeds long distances in their digestive tracts, with studies showing that seeds are excreted more than 300 kilometers (190 miles) away from their origin.

A particularly interesting example is the cassowary, a champion at dispersing seeds of all kinds in its rainforest habitat.

Since cassowaries can eat plants that other species avoid, such as poisonous plants and fruits with large, indigestible seeds, this dispersal is especially important to ensure diversity and species renewal that would not otherwise occur.

Close-up of a cassowary

Do birds pollinate fruit trees?

Bees are by far the primary pollinators of fruit trees and are recognized as pollinating over 90% of the world’s commercially grown fruit crops. Apples, pears, cherries, peaches, plums and mangoes all rely on bees to visit and carry pollen to other trees.

For many fruit trees, birds are also important catalysts for pollen transfer, transferring pollen from flowers to other fruit trees that may be at a greater distance.