Outdoor Cats and the Decline of Native Songbirds

Visitors to the Caldwell Pollinator Garden may be rewarded with a view of our New Jersey state bird, the American goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Sometimes the goldfinch is referred to as a “wild canary” because of the male’s bright yellow feathers. You can’t miss him! The female is olive in color. Both have black wings with white bars, but the male sports a black cap. Both male and female, sometimes in flocks, flit around the garden and balance acrobatically on coneflowers, sunflowers and other native flowers to pick out seeds.

Another common bird in the pollinator garden is the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). You may not often see the bright red male and the slightly rosy-brown female, both with prominent crests, orange beaks and black masks. They are ground feeders that spend their time in the garden hopping under our native plants foraging for seeds and berries. You will, however, know they are nearby when you hear their distinctiveloud, metallic chirp. 

And, of course, the easily recognized red breasted American robins (Turdus migratorius)are always nearby especially in the morning when they are hunting on the dew-soaked ground for worms. Robins also manage garden pests as they eat grubs, caterpillars, slugs, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, termites, crickets.

These are just a few of the local songbirds that inhabit our yards, parks, meadows and wooded areas. Goldfinches, cardinals, robins and so many more bring joy to our gardens and wild areas and connect us with nature, as they thrill us with their beauty, behavior and cheery songs. Watching birds can help relieve stress and promote well-being. Songbirds also provide valuable services to the ecosystems they inhabit and to humans by dispersing seeds, pollinating plants and consuming huge amounts of insects.  

 Sadly, populations of many species of songbirds are in decline throughout North America.  There are several reasons for this. We are losing species due to habitat loss, collisions with windows, motor vehicles, communication towers and power lines, pesticide use and changes in their habitat resulting from climate change. Finally, although it is hard to believe because the numbers are incredibly high, over two billion birds are killed every year by the tens of millions of outdoor cats both owned and feral. Free-roaming cats are second only to habitat loss as the largest human-related cause of bird deaths. These are staggering numbers especially when compared with other causes of bird deaths: 599 million estimated to be killed in collisions with windows and 200 million killed by cars.

Feral cats are responsible for an estimated 69% of all cat-killed birds in the U.S. The other 31% are killed by owed cats, which are allowed to roam outdoors.Since cats hunt by instinct, even well-fed cats are a danger birds. In the United States alone, there are 60 million to 100 million free-ranging, unowned cats.

Outdoor cats are a human-caused problem. Many people who care about cats realize that it is not a good idea to allow cats to roam. Outdoor cats live short lives characterized by hardship, disease, and injury. Outdoor cats may be hit by cars and injured or killed by predators including other cats. Outdoor cats live less than half as long as indoor cats on average. Outdoor cats also transmit diseases such as toxoplasmosis to humans and to wildlife.

Cats are non-native predators. They kill not only birds but small native mammals and reptiles as well.They are a danger to biodiversity.Because of the help they receive from humans, they exist at much higher densities than native predators such as hawks, owls, and foxes. This means that their effect on native animals is much higher than the effect of native predators.

There is a need to raise awareness of the devastating toll that cats are taking on birds. Alerting cat owners to the importance of keeping their pet cats inside is the first step.  Cats are recognizable predators. Cats kill nearly 50 percent of suburban songbird fledglings.  Research has shown that just the presence of a cat near nesting birds reduces the health of chicks and decrease nest success. (Bells on collars have been shown to be unsuccessful in alerting birds to a nearby cat.)

The following is a list of some other actions you can take in addition to keeping your own pet cat indoors.

• Do not provide food to unowned or feral cats.
• Investigate various ways to keep birds from hitting your windows and sliding glass doors.
• Buy bird-friendly coffee which is grown in bird-friendly environments.
• Avoid the use of pesticides in your yard and encourage your neighbors to do the same.
• Use native, pesticide-free plants in your landscaping. Native plants use less water and are more resistant to diseases, making them better for the local ecosystem and requiring less work to maintain.
• Plant a native tree. Native trees host larger numbers of caterpillars on which songbirds raise their young than non-native trees.

Resources:

Bird-Friendly Life | American Bird Conservancy (abcbirds.org)

https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

 State of North America's Birds 2016 (stateofthebirds.org)

FAQ: Outdoor Cats and Their Effects on Birds | All About Birds All About Birds

Cats and Birds | American Bird Conservancy (abcbirds.org)

Help Songbirds (nativesongbirdcare.org)

Why House Cats Are God's Perfect Little Killing Machines : NPR

BirdWords: Feral cats drive songbird decline (redding.com)

‘Caught by Cats’ photo sheds light on cats' killing of birds (nationalgeographic.com)

Benefits You Get From Attracting Birds to Your Yard (thespruce.com)