Birds love thick shrubbery in which to hide themselves, their nests, and their young. Even better is shrubbery with something to offer in the form of winter fruit.

Viburnums offer both flowers and fruit; one is even called the highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum). Lots of native species form a graceful understory to shade trees, such as hobblebush (V. alnifolium). Seek out those that set fruit, and you'll please birds.

The dogwood family is loaded with useful fruiting shrubs and small trees. The familiar flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) calls bluebirds, robins, and other thrushes, as well as woodpeckers, catbirds, thrashers, and starlings, with its fiery red fruit in the autumn. Some of the less well-known small dogwoods like red osier (C. sericea), silky (C. amomum), and gray (C. racemosa) are beloved by fruit-loving birds as well.

Hollies are well-known for berries. One favorite is the native common winterberry (Ilex verticillata). Its bare branches are laden with brilliant clusters of scarlet berries all winter (that is, before the birds finally strip them). Bluebirds especially love them. The holly family has lots of decorative imports, like Chinese and Japanese Hollies (I. cornuta and I. crenata, respectively), that provide both berries and dense foliage for roosting and nesting.