Pyracantha Berries - February

Cedar waxwings and robins are most likely to gorge on fermented blackberries, pyracantha or juniper berries, crabapples or mountain ash fruits. “These birds may be tipsy, inadvertent victims of alcohol consumption,” Oregon State University's Extension Office reports. Birds, and the berry-bearing plants they feed on, are examples of co-evolution for mutual benefit. The plants provide succulent, colourful, fleshy fruits which are irresistible to a passing bird. But at the centre of the fruit is a seed – the plant's genetic insurance policy.

Seeds are tough and (mostly) indigestible, so they pass through the bird's gut undamaged, before being deposited some distance away. By enticing birds to feed on its fruit, the plant has given itself the best possible chance of dispersing its seeds over the widest possible area.

It doesn't always work. Birds such as finches are known as 'seed-predators', because they are able to digest (and so destroy) the seed. In such cases, the host plant gets no benefit.

But usually the relationship benefits both sides. Plants such as hawthorn, bramble and wild cherry produce an abundance of red or black fruits (the colours most easily perceived by birds), and the birds happily take advantage of the free meal. Birds have even learned which berries are highest in antioxidants, to help them keep fit and healthy.

Berries are especially important at this time of year for migrating birds, but also throughout the winter months, when alternative food sources are scarce. David and Barbara Snow, authors of the seminal work on the subject, Birds and Berries, watched a single blackbird eat over 300 Pyracantha berries in a single day – equivalent to its own weight in food. The gold medallist of berry-eaters, the waxwing, has been known to take more than 1,000 berries in a day, or twice its body weight.
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