Talk:Bird feeding

message: Aside from general tidying of the English, I changed the classification from hobby to activity.  The original text referred to bird-feeding as a hobby, and explained that it could also be carried out for other reasons; once the qualification had been removed by User:Arpingstone, the definition was too narrow to be accurate.  I've also removed a claim that bird-feeding is primarily urban (it is, but only because populations are concentrated in urban areas), and a claim that naturalists deprecate the activity (they certainly don't in the U.K.).  Both these claims might be true in the U.S.; if so, they could be put back with suitable qualifications.
I'm not sure why two suppliers of bird-food and two manufacturers of bird-feeders are mentioned in the text (especially as there's no article for any of them); should these not be removed? Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 18:35, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Commercial mentions removed, as you suggest - Adrian Pingstone 21:38, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Untitled

message: I've made a few minor changes to the part listing the most common birds in U.S. cities:
* Replace jackdaw with crow, because that's what we have in the U.S.
* Capitalize common names of bird species, in keeping with the normal practice in Wikipedia and elsewhere
* Note which are introduced species
* Specify House Sparrow, not sparrows in general.  The House Sparrow is the common city pest, and is introduced from Europe.  It is not closely related to New World sparrows, so care should be taken to distinguish (when talking about North American birds)
* Change most common birds...are to ...include because no support is given for the list, which looks "off the top of one's head".  It omits several common birds (House Finch, Mourning Dove, American Robin, etc.), and obviously the prevalence of ducks and geese will depend on whether you're near water (lake, pond, marsh, etc.).  Also, different cities will clearly have different birds (think of Phoenix vs. Seattle vs. Miami)
* There's no such thing as "domestic sparrow."  Passer domesticus is called House Sparrow both in England and the U.S.
-- Coneslayer 23:53, 2005 Apr 28 (UTC)
::On the West Coast, we've got Canada geese that no longer migrate. They're near water since water is everywhere (canals are just fine) but unlike ducks, they're not water-feeding birds and they don't need it. (Geese eat grass, among other things.) All up and down the West Coast there are concentrations of Canada geese that have "settled down in the suburbs" (and the urbs, as well). There's a middle-school in my area where the geese make the ballfield very hard to use with all their droppings. So yes: common birds depend on where you are, and geese are rule-breakers. [g]. Jennifer Brooks 17:54, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Top U.S. city birds 

message: The photo on the artice shows a big fat Wood Pigeon on a small bird table. I'm all for the Wood Pigeons but dont you think that such a big bird on a small bird table is, well, how can i put this, out of proportion. Just a thought, and I dont really expect an answer (especally given my poor spelling). Thanks! Think outside the box 12:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: That table is really not all that small. Besides, a picture where the bird is obvious is ideal, I think.-Cyanocittacristata 15:56, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Just a thought...

message: I removed this section of the article, as it is really unencyclopedic:
</blockquote>"When bird feeding, be sure to take hygiene and safety precautions, as the unnatural situation of having large numbers of birds congregating in one area can lead to transmission of infectious diseases. Clean all feeding stations regularly and wash away all droppings. Wear rubber gloves when undertaking these tasks to avoid contact with bacteria and viruses that may be present in bird droppings. Other safety precautions involve not feeding whole peanuts or unsoaked dried fruit during the breeding season as this can be dangerous to nestlings, and never using net bags to feed birds, as birds may die as a result of their feet or tongues getting trapped."</blockquote>
It sounds like it comes directly out of a 'how-to' section, and though it's likely fine as copyvio, it's not encyclopedic. It has some good info, but I don't know enough about the subject to rephrase it in an encyclopedic fashion without it sounding awkward; I just tried a few ways. --Thespian 22:59, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  'How To' 

message: "Bird feeding is the activity of feeding birds" - it's very informative… ;-))) — D V S??? 03:22, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Definition 

message: There exist articles on the WWW (e.g., http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/natural-insect-control-zmaz80jazraw.aspx?PageId=1#axzz2wL4Zreqh) which claim that bird feeding can be utilized as a means of insect control.  This concept should be reviewed and added to the article.  Rnabioullin (talk) 18:18, 18 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Additional Purpose of Bird Feeding