Birds as Pests...

Other than farmers, most people are bird lovers, and rarely see any birds as pests. However, there are situations where birds or their nests are in close contact with human activity and have the potential to cause damage, injury and even spread disease. Pest birds must be controlled in these cases.

Many bird species are protected under law, and the only way to deal with problem birds of these species is to exclude them from the sensitive area. Three species of birds have come to live in close proximity with man, and are classed as pest species. These are the Feral Pigeon, the European Starling, and the House Sparrow.

House Sparrow

Scientific Name: Passer Domesticus

House Sparrows are a relatively small bird, about 5½ to 6½ inches in length. Adult males have a black throat and upper chest, with a gray crown and chestnut color neck. The breast is a dirty white, and the wings and back is a reddish brown. Females are a fairly uniform brown all over. The bill is short and conical, typical of a seed eating bird.

Sparrows normally nest in or around buildings. The nest is constructed of grass, twigs or paper, and it is common to find Sparrow nests in groups. The female lays 3 to 5 eggs per clutch, 2 to 5 times per year. The adults are primarily grain feeders, but will collect insects during the breeding season to provide the young with the high protein needed for their development.

House Sparrows are experts at gaining access into our structures, and are a potentially serious source of contamination for a wide variety of manufacturing, storage and retail businesses. They can be very destructive when nesting, and may seriously damage insulating materials either to gain access to protected areas or for nesting material. Their droppings increase cleaning costs for a large number of commercial establishments, and are implicated in the spread of diseases such as Histoplasmosis and Salmonellosis. In common with other species of birds, House Sparrow nests commonly harbor a number of arthropods which live as scavengers on the nest material or droppings, or as external parasites on the birds. These include Clothes moths, Carpet beetles, Flies, Mites, Ticks, and Fleas.

European Starling

Scientific Name: Sturnus Vulgaris

The European Starling is not a native of North America, but was deliberately introduced in the 1890s by a misguided individual who wished to bring all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works to the New World. They thrived, and now extend from coast to coast in most parts of the country, including even Alaska. Estimates of their population suggest there may be ten Starlings for every human inhabitant.

Adult Starlings are about 8½ inches in length, dark iridescent blue-black with short tails. They eat mostly insects, but small fruits and seeds are readily taken. Their nests are usually built in tree cavities or structural voids in buildings, and the female lays 3 to 6 pale greenish eggs per clutch, usually twice per year.

Large flocks of Starlings form in the winter, and huge winter roosts are often established in cities. Small feeding flocks will disperse each morning to feed outside of the city, then the birds will rejoin each evening at the roosting site.

In urban areas Starlings deface buildings with their droppings, and in rural areas they may eat large amounts of livestock feed. Their droppings damage lawns and ornamental plantings, and may even kill trees in city parks. Starlings commonly carry the diseases ornithosis, encephalitis and histoplasmosis. They also create a great deal of noise when at roost which is very disturbing to building occupants.

Feral Pigeon

Scientific Name: Columba Livia

The Feral Pigeon is believed to be descended from a species of rock dove that prefers to nest on cliff faces. As man has built sky-scrapers in his cities he has created the artificial cliffs that these birds like so well, and they have moved onto our office and apartment window ledges.

Most Pigeons are about a foot in length and blue-gray in color, although variations of white, brown and mottled birds are quite common. The females breed throughout the year, and lay 1 or 2 eggs in large disorganized nests that are simply placed on a protected ledge. In urban environments the adults feed upon seeds, grains, insects and any food they can scavenge. Adult Pigeons may live for up to 15 years in the wild, but most urban birds do not live more than 3 to 4 years.

Nesting or roosting Pigeons can cause serious problems. Their droppings deface and accelerate the decay of structures (particularly limestone), cause intolerable odors for building occupants, foul entrance ways and create hazards to pedestrians, damage the painted surface of motor vehicles, and contaminate manufactured goods and foods. They are also known to promote and spread several serious diseases including ornithosis, histoplasmosis, encephalitis and salmonella bacteria. Several ectoparasites such as mites, fleas and ticks are common on pigeons and found in their nesting material, as are a number of other insects including carpet beetles. The nest material alone can cause blockage of down-spouts and result in water intrusion and damage.

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