Wild Bird Food:
What do Birds Like?


When it comes to wild bird food, there are lots of choices. Different seeds as well as feeders will attract different bird species. The more you know about which types of seed birds prefer, the better you will be able to attract the number and types of birds that visit your feeders.  

Follow the below links to learn about different types of bird food and the kind of birds each will attract:

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds Bird Suet
Nyjer Seed Feeding Birds Fruit
Safflower Seed Corn Bird Food
White Proso Millet Peanut Bird Feeder
Wild Bird Seed Mixes  

 

NECTAR

We've got a whole page on how to make your own hummingbird nectar!
 

Wild Bird Seed Preferences of Common Feeder Birds

  Sunflower Safflower Corn Millet Milo Nyjer Suet
Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches X X         X
Finches X X   X   X  
Cardinals, Grosbeaks X X          
Sparrows, Blackbirds X   X X      
Jays X   X   X   X
Woodpeckers X           X
Orioles, Tanagers             X
Pigeons, Doves     X X X    
Indigo Buntings X     X   X  

Results based in part on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Seed Preference Test, a National Science Experiment sponsored by the National Science Foundation, launched in winter 1993-1994.
 

Remember, you do have an ethical obligation not

to jeopardize wild birds with your feeders. Follow the links below in order to provide a safe feeding environment for your birds:

 

Precautions against Disease

Precautions against Window Collisions

Precautions against Cats

Now that you know about they types of wild bird food, learn how to build your own feeder with these Bird Feeder Plans and learn which type attracts what kind of birds.

Winter Bird Feeding - Learn about the best bird seed for the birds during the cold wintertime season.

And be sure to sign up for Project FeederWatch, where you can participate in a winter-long survey of birds that visit your feeder.

Best Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder Voted by Birders

Want to feed birds, not squirrels? This feeder is one of best squirrel proof feeders on the market.

 

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