How Do Birds Help The Environment? (4 Key Reasons)

For species on every continent, every habitat and every climate on Earth, birdlife inevitably has and continues to have a major impact on the state of the planet.

But how do birds help the environment? What practical benefits does bird life bring to the world? We’ll be looking at the direct impact birds have on the world around us, so read on if you want to learn more.

Birds make countless positive contributions to the environment in many different ways, from pollinating flowers, to controlling insect and rodent populations, encouraging diversity and dispersing plant seeds across landscapes, and fertilizing agricultural fields.

Birds have a varied diet, occupying a range of positions in the food chain from top predators (golden eagles and California condors) to common targets of birds of prey (such as pigeons and quail). If bird populations decline, thousands of ecosystems will collapse, and the associated shockwaves will be felt by farmers and families around the world.

Golden eagles are apex predators, which basically means they are at the top of the food chain

There are also unintentional benefits to birds as they forage, roam and soar in different habitats. Believe it or not, guano can have a huge positive impact on the environment. Birds carry undigested fruit and berry seeds to various locations in the form of droppings, leading to the dispersal and persistence of plant species.

While many of the contributions made by bird species worldwide are considered positive and beneficial to the planet, it is also right to discuss ways in which bird life can also be considered negative. One such example is that of invasive species — birds introduced into areas where they would not naturally occur — that can cause widespread agricultural damage and disrupt local ecosystems.

Read on to learn more about how birds shape, improve and even clean the world we share with them.

Ring-necked parakeets are classified as an invasive species in parts of Europe, including the UK

Reasons Birds Help the Environment

Some of the main ways birds help maintain, increase diversity, and improve environmental quality—and some of the less obvious eco-friendly contributions of birds—are as follows:

natural fertilizer

Bird droppings, also known as guano, are a prized and highly sought after natural fertilizer, whose positive effects are especially evident in coastal areas. Large flocks of fish-eating seabirds come inland to breed, forming huge flocks. Wherever there are large flocks of birds, there will naturally be large amounts of guano.

Since seabirds feed on marine fish, the droppings are rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, and the impact of the extra nutrients on inland soil quality is evident, improving the fertility of nearby grasslands that support grazing animals such as musk oxen, caribou and hares.

In the past, this guano was so precious that Arctic seabird habitats were a prime place to source tons of nitrogen-rich fertilizer. The annual sedimentation of a small puffin colony in northwestern Greenland is estimated at 3500 tonnes.

Seabirds like puffins help the environment with nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich poop

seed and spore dispersal

Seed-eating birds play an unwitting role in ensuring the continuation of many plant species as they forage in woodlands and forests, eating berries and other fruits and plants. The undigested seeds are then drained to different parts of the forest floor, or further afield, where they have a chance to take root.

Fungal spores are transferred in a similar fashion, meaning that plants and fungi can reach areas they would otherwise not be able to reach, ensuring the survival and diversity of plant species and creating landscapes rich in plant life that can in turn support the many others that depend on them for survival species.

pollination

Birds are important pollinators of wildflowers, passing pollen grains between wildflowers that allow the plants to reproduce. It’s not just nectar-eating birds such as hummingbirds that play this important role. Birds that feed on berries or brush flowers also help with pollination by transferring pollen brushed off their feathers, beaks and feet between flowers.

Nectar-eating birds like hummingbirds play crucial role in pollination

pest control

It may not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the contributions birds make to the world, but the role birds play in pest control is significant.

Swallows can eat up to 60 insects in an hour, which can have a huge collective impact when these insects can wreak massive damage to food crops that humans depend on.research data show Birds eat about 40-500 million tons of bugs every year.

Barn owls that prey near farmland have been credited with reducing populations of rodents such as mice and gophers, which can destroy crops intended for human consumption. Birds act as natural pest control agents, eliminating the need for the wider use of harmful pesticides, which is another advantage of being eco-friendly.

Barn swallows can eat up to sixty insects an hour

What is the ecological importance of birds?

With approximately 10,000 species of birds in the world, the impact of birds on the world’s ecosystems is undeniable, with birds of all sizes and habitats playing important roles in the food chain as both prey and predators. Without birds, populations of various mammals, insects, reptiles and fish are in danger of spiraling out of control.

The disappearance of birds will not only affect the populations of other creatures, but also pose a real threat to humans. About 10% of the world’s crops are destroyed by pests, but without birds to control these pest populations, this could rise to 80 to 90%, with subsequent crop failures leading to mass famines and possibly human starvation .

As the earth’s caretakers, scavengers play an unrivaled role, clearing landscapes of carrion and carcasses that would otherwise decay and potentially cause disease to humans and animals in the area.

By eating every fragment of a dead animal, including the bones, birds such as vultures do a great deal to the environment and prevent harmful gases from rotting carcasses from seeping into soil and waterways.

Turkey vulture feeding on carcasses

How do birds help the environment through flight?

Flying allows birds to travel a wider range than if they could only travel on foot. This means they are essential for using, moving and recycling valuable nutrients on a global scale.

Long-distance migration means that food eaten in one part of the world may be excreted in a completely different place, and any benefits of this “nutrient cycling” are not limited to the birds’ immediate environment, but can be spread farther afield.

Without flight, ecosystems would change dramatically and predatory carnivores such as eagles and birds of prey would not be able to maintain their place at the top of the food chain.

Birds that feed on flying insects will not be able to play a role in maintaining insect populations at manageable levels, and habitat diversity will be greatly reduced because birds will be limited in where they can claim territory.

This will undoubtedly lead to problems of competition for nests, great pressure on food resources and an inevitable threat to the survival of the species.

American White Pelican in flight

How do birds negatively impact the environment?

One area where birds are sometimes said to have a negative impact on the environment has to do with landfills. Seagulls, in particular, are common in places where household waste is disposed of, and the calls of these large birds as they pick up trash can’t be mistaken.

Often, they may carry litter off site, potentially dropping hazardous materials and creating health risks in wider and previously uncontaminated areas.

A large flock of seagulls at a landfill

The birds themselves and their droppings are said to carry as many as 60 infectious diseases, some of which can be very serious when infected by humans. Places where many birds congregate naturally increase the risk, as does the amount of droppings.

While bird droppings are good on land in terms of their high nitrogen content, making them suitable fertilizers for agricultural use, things are a little different in water.

Large quantities of guano are dumped in the sea or on lakes, posing a risk of water pollution with above-average levels of nitrogen and phosphorus.

These elements cause rapid growth of algae, which in turn leads to a drop in oxygen levels in the water, a process known as eutrophication. This kills any fish in the water and also means the water cannot be treated to make it safe to drink.

Some birds are classified as invasive species, which inherently pose a threat to local ecosystems. Possible problems with rapidly growing non-native bird populations include disruption of the natural prey-predator balance in the region, widespread damage to crops and land, and increased competition for food and nesting.

Canada geese are one of the most famous invasive species in the United States.

flock of canada geese