III.

Where Birds Can Be Viewed

Birds are found throughout the world. They have adapted to an amazing variety of habitats. More than 800 species of birds live in North America north of Mexico. In the United States, areas with varied topography, such as the states of Texas and California, provide a number of different ecosystems that can support almost 600 species. Even the most heavily populated urban areas offer a fascinating array of bird life across the seasons. For example, more than 100 bird species regularly nest within New York City, and more than 350 species have been identified, at one time or another, in New York City’s Central Park. Birds also flourish in some of the most remote and seemingly inhospitable regions of the world. Over 230 bird species occur in icy Greenland, and 272 species have been documented in Canada's Yukon Territory, where temperatures can plunge to –46°C (-50°F) during the winter.

Intentionally and unintentionally, humans have shaped living environments in ways that are well suited to the needs of many bird species. Starlings, house sparrows, swallows, and rock doves nest on buildings in cities, towns, and farms. The chimney swift has abandoned hollow trees for chimneys as a nest site in urban areas. Mallards and Canada geese—once exclusively wild, migratory species—now live year-round in the open spaces found in city parks and golf courses. Nearly all purple martins, a songbird species that once used the abandoned nests of woodpeckers or the natural cavities of cliffs or dead trees, now live primarily in structures specifically constructed for them by humans. The peregrine falcon nests on tall buildings in many cities.