Birds visit trees, shrubs, vines and perennials for five things: fruits (berries), sweet nectar (flowers), insects (particularly caterpillars), nuts and seeds, and shelter. This list is a compilation from the North Carolina and Tennessee chapters of the Audubon Society of ornamental plants common in the Southern Appalachian region.

Trees and Shrubs

Maples (Acer spp.)

Downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)

River Birch (Betula nigra)

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

Hickories (Carya spp.)

Dogwood (Cornus florida)

New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)

Hawthorns (Crataegus spp.)

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica)

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Crabapples (Malus spp.)

Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica)

Pines (Pinus spp.)

Wild Plum (Prunus americana)

Cherries (Prunus spp.)

Sweet Azalea (Rhododendron arborescens)  – at higher elevations

Pinxterflower (Rhododendron periclymenoides)

Oaks (Quercus spp.)

Wiilows (Salix spp.)

Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

Arrow-wood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)

Smooth Witherod (Viburnum nudum)

Woody Vines

Trumpet-creeper (Campsis radicans)

Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata)

Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

Perennials

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)

Lobed Tickseed (Coreopsis auriculata)

Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)

Star Tickseeds (Coreopsis pubescens var pubescens)

Joy Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)

Beardtongue (Penstemon)

Eastern Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

Trailing Phlox (Phlox nivalis)

Moss Pink (Phlox subulata)

Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera)

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida var fulgida)

White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)

Wreath Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)

Large flower Aster (Symphyotrichum grandiflorum)

Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum leave)

Eastern Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

Iron Weed (Vernonia lettermanni)

Ornamental Grasses

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

Yellow Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)