While at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge last week, I photographed more American Mistletoe in a one tree than I had ever seen before. The tree was full of it.

Tree covered with American Mistletoe, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, OklahomaTree covered with American Mistletoe – Cell phone photo

I shared the photo on Facebook with the caption, “Ho ho ho… that’s a whole lot of mistletoe!” because that much mistletoe truly fascinated me.

My dear friend and birder, Kathie Brown, asked, ‘Who eats and spreads it out there?’ and since she asked, I did some research and now have some answers to her query. I wanted to know the answer too.

According to Audubon, Birds & Blooms, and other sources, American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, Mourning Doves, Cedar Waxwings, and Evening Grosbeaks enjoy eating mistletoe berries in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

As of now, I don’t have any images of Evening Grosbeaks, but I wanted to share photos of the other birds I mentioned that feed on mistletoe berries here.

Suburban male Eastern Bluebird at a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas
American Robin adult in fall, Sebastian County, Arkansas
Mourning Dove walking through grass in Arkansas, Sebastian County
Cedar Waxwing in a mulberry tree, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma

I dug a bit deeper because I wanted a list of all North American birds that eat mistletoe berries and came up with more:

  1. Phainopepla (main winter food source in the Sonoran Desert)
  2. Bluebirds
  3. Evening Grosbeaks
  4. American Robins
  5. Chickadees
  6. Mourning Doves
  7. Grouse
  8. Pigeons
  9. Cedar Waxwings
  10. Gray Jays
  11. Red Crossbills
  12. House Wrens
  13. Pygmy Nuthatches
  14. Western Tanagers
  15. Chipping Sparrows
  16. Hermit Thrushes
  17. Cassin’s Finches
  18. Pine Siskins

I’m not sure why chickadees, pigeons, Chipping Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, and Pine Siskins weren’t included in my original research, since those birds are found in both Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Maybe it’s a seasonal thing? Some of these birds are migratory.

That also made me wonder if there are mistletoe berries on the mistletoe right now.

American Mistletoe in a Silver Maple, Sebastian County, ArkansasAmerican Mistletoe in a Silver Maple

So, even though it was a gray, foggy, wet, and misty Christmas day, I went out and photographed some mistletoe clumps in the trees in the yard. The two clumps I found had no berries.

Now, I have a good idea of which birds might be eating mistletoe berries, something I wasn’t aware of before.

Mistletoe is a hemiparasitic plant, which means it partially relies on its host for survival while still performing some of its own vital functions. Mistletoe’s hemiparasitic life cycle allows it to thrive in various environments while maintaining a unique ecological role in its habitat.

By eating the mistletoe berries, birds play a crucial role in the plant’s reproduction, as they digest the berry pulp but pass the seeds intact through their digestive system. These seeds are then deposited on tree branches via bird droppings, allowing new mistletoe plants to germinate.

And that is probably more than you might want to know about birds and mistletoe.

Life is good.

Mia

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