Attention: Never feed your birds on unripe berries of the black elder. As long as the berries are still green or reddish, they are poisonous! Only ripe berries with a rich dark violet or blackish colour are not toxic. Also the bark and the leafs of the black elder are poisonous. The flowers contain toxic substances as well, but only in little quantities. Many birds love to eat black elder flowers. To be on the safe side you should allow your birds only to eat a very small amount. In Central Europe, the black elder flowers in June and July.