Birds (many species)

Birds were valued for both their meat and their feathers as well as their eggs. Many species have been found in some archeological deposits. Turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo) was likely the most important food bird, but several species of quail and dove were eaten as well as song birds such as canyon wrens (Catherpes mexicanus). Bird bones, which are hollow, were often used in making beads as well as musical instruments such as flutes.

At the Wilson-Leonard site in Williamson County, egg shells from a variety of birds were found throughout levels representing some 13,000 years of occupation. Although they were too fragmented to identify to particular species, measurement of the thickness of the shells could be correlated to bird sizes. The results suggested that native peoples ate mostly eggs of birds larger than passerines (perchers and songbirds) but smaller than those of turkey and geese. Likely, the eggs of hawks, grackles, woodpeckers, and ducks were gathered, adding a nutritious supplement to the prehistoric diet.