The scene is reminiscent of the real-life seed vendors of Trafalgar Square who began selling birdseed to passers-by shortly after its public opening in 1844.
Academy Award winner Jane Darwell played the Bird Woman, her last screen appearance.
In contrast to the energetic nature of most of the film's songs, "Feed the Birds" is played in a reverent tempo.
It is used in four places: In 1988 Garth Hudson recorded "Feed the Birds" on Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, produced by Hal Willner.
[2] The song is also alluded to in the Disney film Enchanted, a tribute to and parody of Disney films, in the form of an old woman named Clara who sells bird feed for "two dollars a bag";[3] in Chris Columbus's 1992 movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York by the character known as the Pigeon Lady (interpreted by Academy Award Winner Brenda Fricker) and John Williams's soundtrack theme; and in the 2007 satirical comedy The Nanny Diaries.
Cynthia A. Morgan, award-winning author and Inspiration coach, related how the song shaped her life.
Robert Sherman recalled:[7] On Fridays, after work, [Walt Disney would] often invite us into his office and we'd talk about things that were going on at the Studio.
In her mid-eighties and semi-retired from acting (though she took television episodic guest appearances about once per year), Darwell had recently moved into the Motion Picture Country Home because of her advanced age and feebleness.
It was her last screen appearance or acting role; her only spoken line had to be re-recorded later by screenwriter/producer Bill Walsh, as her own voice was too weak.
Sherman was told afterwards that "just towards the end of the song, out of the blue sky one bird flew down where he was playing, and then back into the clouds".