There have been many anecdotal stories where birds not only returned to the same yard, but to the same bush or tree to nest, year after year; ...
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I’ve lived in my house for 30 years. Back yard has a raised tie wall bed across the width of the yard and it’s full of Carolina Jasmine mixed with wild grapevine that cascades down the 5 ft. wall.
For at least the past 25 years, each Spring there are two to four mating Cardinals that build their nests and raise the young ones in the thick foliage. .....I also have a pair of Doves each year that nest and raise young in my holly shrubs. ....The male Cardinals are a bright crimson color who is fiercely protective of the drab hens and the nests. They will first fly to a new spot in the yard and then call to the hens or fledglings that it’s safe to follow.
I believe those that show up each year are the ones that were hatched and raised here the previous year.
Yes. Just like humans, the generations learn from their forebears.
But to figure out whether it’s long-term memory, or the habit of simply knowing the locale, it matters whether the bird migrates. Cardinals don’t migrate; they are around all year, even if you don’t see them. But they’ve learned that your yard is a great nesting place, and are obviously returning to it for that important function - even if they are only a few blocks away during the rest of the year.
Of course, learning involves memory - but it’s more remarkable in migrating birds who come back to the same place after much travel and almost a year away. For instance, in my area, Catbirds migrate; but I’m convinced that they and their descendants have come back year after year, to nest in the same bush.
Most of what we know about bird behavior is still anecdotal, even though a lot of scientific studies have been done in the last few decades. A really great ‘encyclopedia’ of bird life and behavior is the series done by Arthur Cleveland Bent, which used to be published by Dover. I read these from the Library for years, and then was fortunate to inherit the entire series from a friend. You can still find the individual volumes on Amazon, or in used bookstores. You can buy them one-by-one, for the birds that interest you:
http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Cleveland-Bent/e/B001H6WOLE
-JT