Similarly-sized Farmland Birds

     Four kinds of attractive, interesting medium-sized birds that nest in farmland in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere in eastern North America, include eastern kingbirds, eastern bluebirds, orchard orioles and cedar waxwings.  These species of birds are about the same size, six inches on average, and feed on invertebrates during their summer nesting seasons.  But they nest and feed in different niches, from the fields themselves, to overgrown meadows to the thin, riparian woods along both sides of waterways in that human-made, cropland environment.  Their using a diversity of niches reduces competition for space and food among themselves.
     Eastern kingbirds are dark on top and white below, with a small red streak on its crown.  They build open, grassy nests in lone trees in the open fields of farmland.  They perch on the twigs of trees, fences and roadside wires to watch for passing flying insects.  When an insect buzzes by, a kingbird will swing out on rapidly and shallow beating wings too grab that victim in its beak.  Then it will return t its roost or another one to swallow its prey or feed it to its young in their nursery.  Kingbirds winter in Central America and arrive here ready to nest early in May.
     Male eastern bluebirds are blue on top, rusty on their chests and white on their bellies.  Females are mostly light gray with some blue feathers in their wings and tails.  This species nests in abandoned woodpecker holes and other tree cavities, and boxes erected especially for them in weedy, shrubby pastures in farmland.
     Bluebirds perch on twigs, fences and wires to watch for invertebrates in the air and on the ground.  When prey is spotted they flit out, capture it in their beaks and fly back to a resting spot to eat their victim, or feed it to their youngsters in their nest box.  Some bluebirds winter here when they consume a variety of berries.  And several of them will huddle together in a tree hollow or bird house to share body heat through a winter's night. 
     Male orchard orioles are black and burnt-orange, females are olive-yellow and one-year-old males resemble females, except they have black bibs under their beaks.  This type of oriole raises offspring in open, grassy cradles in small trees in orchards, parks and tree-studded meadows.  They search through trees, shrubbery and grass for invertebrates to eat and feed to their babies.  Sometimes they can be spotted perched on tree twigs.  This species spends northern winters in Central and South America. 
     Cedar waxwing genders are similar in appearance.  They are light-brown all over with a black streak through each eye, a yellow tip to their tails, and red, waxy secretions on the secondary feathers on their wings.  They build open platforms of twigs and grass on twigs of trees along a cropland waterway.  They fly out to snare insects on the wing, often over the stream or creek they are nesting near.  And they eat many berries when they ripen.  They feed both those foods to their young in the nest.   
     Many waxwings winter here, in groups of a dozen to more than a hundred individuals.  They eat berries in winter, quickly stripping trees and bushes clean of their fruits, then moving on to find more berries to eat.     
     These attractive, similar-sized birds adapted well to our agricultural environment.  But each species has its own niche, which reduces rivalry for space and food.  And these birds are enjoyable to experience in their farmland habitat during the summer.