The list below ranks in order the top 75 favorite wildlife preferred berries and fruits.
The ranking is determined using two criteria to describe the role of the plant food in animals’ diets:
1) the number of species that utilizes the food,
2) how significant the food is within an individual species overall diet
So while a food may not be popular across a large number of species, it still could be strongly preferred by a few species. By coordinating with a rehabber’s specific needs, a forager can decide which plants to best target for collection.
Be sure to check any item listed below in the database to see if there are any toxicological warnings associated with that plant or part of the plant.
| 1 | blackberry | Rubus spp. |
| 2 | cherry, wild | Prunus spp. |
| 3 | dogwood | Cornus spp. |
| 4 | elderberry | Sambucus spp. |
| 5 | blueberry | Vaccinium spp. |
| 6 | grape | Vitis spp. |
| 7 | mulberry | Morus spp. |
| 8 | sumac | Rhus spp. |
| 9 | pokeweed | Phytolacca americana |
| 10 | serviceberry | Amelanchier spp. |
| 11 | Virginia creeper | Parthenocissus spp. |
| 12 | juniper | Juniperus spp. |
| 13 | poison ivy, eastern | Toxicodendron radicans |
| 14 | crabapple/ apple | Malus spp. |
| 15 | bayberry | Morella spp. |
| 16 | gum | Nyssa spp. |
| 17 | gum, black (black tupelo) | Nyssa sylvatica |
| 18 | olives | Elaeagnus spp. |
| 19 | redcedar, eastern | Juniperus virginiana |
| 20 | holly | Ilex spp. |
| 21 | viburnum | Viburnum spp. |
| 22 | strawberry | Fragaria spp. |
| 23 | greenbrier | Smilax spp. |
| 24 | rose | Rosa spp. |
| 25 | honeysuckle, bush | Lonicera spp. |
| 26 | huckleberry | Gaylussacia spp. |
| 27 | olive, autumn | Elaeagnus umbellata |
| 28 | nightshade | Solanum spp. |
| 29 | dogwood, flowering | Cornus florida |
| 30 | sassafras | Sassafras albidum |
| 31 | mountain ash | Sorbus spp. |
| 32 | hawthorn | Crataegus spp. |
| 33 | lingonberry | Vaccinium vitis-idaea |
| 34 | hackberry | Celtis spp. |
| 35 | persimmon, common | Diospyros virginiana |
| 36 | winterberry, common | Ilex verticillata |
| 37 | mulberry, red | Morus rubra |
| 38 | bunchberry | Cornus canadensis |
| 39 | elderberry, American black | Samucus nigra |
| 40 | rose, multiflora | Rosa multiflora |
| 41 | spicebush | Lindera spp. |
| 42 | raspberry, red | Rubus idaeus |
| 43 | honeysuckle, Japanese | Lonicera japonica |
| 44 | blueberry, lowbush | Vaccinium angustifolium |
| 45 | currant | Ribes spp. |
| 46 | snowberry | Symphoricarpos spp. |
| 47 | blueberry, velvetleaf | Vaccinium myrtilloides |
| 48 | firethorn | Pyracantha spp. |
| 49 | barberry | Berberis spp. |
| 50 | nightshade, climbing | Solanum dulcamara |
| 51 | blackberry, Himalayan | Rubus armeniacus |
| 52 | bittersweet | Celastrus spp. |
| 53 | chokeberry | Aronia spp. |
| 54 | honeysuckle, Amur | Lonicera maackii |
| 55 | bayberry, northern | Morella pensylvanica |
| 56 | blackberry, evergreen | Rubus laciniatus |
| 57 | pear | Pyrus spp. |
| 58 | buckthorn | Rhamnus spp. |
| 59 | olive, russian | Elaeagnus angustifolia |
| 60 | spikenard | Aralia spp. |
| 61 | sumac, fragrant | Rhus aromatica |
| 62 | privet | Ligustrum spp. |
| 63 | baneberry, red | Actaea rubra |
| 64 | hackberry, common | Celtis occidentalis |
| 65 | mountain ash, American | Sorbus americana |
| 66 | coralberry | Symphoricarpos orbiculatus |
| 67 | bittersweet, Oriental | Celatrus orbiculatus |
| 68 | cherry, black | Prunus serotina |
| 69 | blueberry, highbush | Vaccinium corymbosum |
| 70 | yew | Taxus spp. |
| 71 | huckleberry, blue | Gaylussacia frondosa |
| 72 | blueberry, Blue Ridge | Vaccinium pallidum |
| 73 | grape, summer | Vitis aestivalis |
| 74 | burning bush | Euonymus alatus |
| 75 | plum, American | Prunus americana |
What Criteria is Used for the Ranking the Lists?
The main resources used to build this website usually rated foods in three levels of preference: high, middle and low. But, a plant may be high preference in Michigan but lower preference in Virginia. So the preference factor has some built in limitations. Still, it is factor #1 in the algorithm.
The second factor considered was how many species of animals ate the part of the plant in consideration. A seed that 29 species eats would outrank a seed that only 5 species eats.
From a foragers perspective, it would be ideal to collect the most highly preferable foods that feed the widest range of rehabilitation animals, right? Well maybe not.
Consider if a rehabilitator only works with foxes. To research which foods would be most beneficial in the “fox only” scenario, the only consideration that she would care about is the most preferred food for foxes, not how many other species ate it.
So the ranking lists are the most general broad interpretation of the data. You will want to generate your own lists from the search feature to find out just what you want to target for collection.
References Used with Permission:
The Fire Effects Information System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Fire Effects Information System (2017) Plant species ecology literature reviews. Retrieved various dates from https://www.feis-crs.org/feis/
Martin, A.C., Zim, H.S., Nelson, A.L. (1951). American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. New York: Dover Publications.
Scott, M. (2013). Songbird Diet Index. National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, St. Cloud, MN.