It's a basic idea, but it makes a whole lot of sense: Native plants are better for native birds than introduced flora. More specifically, because these trees and shrubs have evolved with the local wildlife, they harbor more insects or yield more berries and fruit than non-native plants, providing greater amounts of food for certain critters. This seemingly obvious idea has been buttressed by years of research by Doug Tallamy, whose published work has shown that these plants host many more caterpillars, and that yards with more native vegetation host more native-bird species. But somewhat surprisingly, there haven't been much in the way of dedicated studies linking this previous research to the diet of a certain bird species. Now, a new analysis in Biological Conservation, released online this month, shows that yards filled with native vegetation do indeed offer more food for nesting birds than non-indigenous species. In a two-year survey of Carolina...