Bird Food Types Explained

Black-oil sunflower seed

Black-oil sunflower seed is the gold standard of bird food. Its thin shell is easy for small birds to crack, and it's packed with the fat and protein birds need. Cardinals, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, and many more all love it. If you offer just one food, this is the one.

Striped sunflower seed

Striped sunflower seed has a thicker shell and is slightly larger than the black-oil variety. It's favored by bigger, stronger-billed birds like cardinals, jays, and grosbeaks, while small birds find it harder to crack. It's a fine choice if you're targeting larger species.

Nyjer (thistle) seed

Nyjer seed — tiny, black, and oil-rich — is the favorite of finches, especially goldfinches and house finches. It needs a special feeder with small ports, or it spills out. If you want a flash of gold at your feeder, nyjer is the way to attract goldfinches.

Suet

Suet is rendered animal fat, often mixed with seeds, nuts, or insects, and it's a high-energy food that birds love in cold weather. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, and wrens all visit suet feeders. Offer suet in a wire cage, and you'll see birds you might not see at a seed feeder.

Peanuts

Shelled or whole peanuts are a favorite of blue jays, woodpeckers, and nuthatches. They're high in fat and protein, and jays will happily carry them away to cache. Offer peanuts in a dedicated feeder, and you'll attract some of the backyard's boldest, most entertaining birds.

Mealworms

Dried or live mealworms attract insect-eating birds — bluebirds, robins, wrens, and warblers — that ignore seed. They're especially valuable in spring, when birds are feeding hungry nestlings. Offering mealworms is the key to attracting bluebirds and other insect-lovers.

Safflower and cracked corn

Safflower seed is liked by cardinals and other seed-eaters, and squirrels tend to ignore it, making it a useful squirrel deterrent. Cracked corn attracts larger ground feeders like doves, jays, and sparrows. Both are good additions for specific birds.

Fruit

Some birds — orioles, robins, waxwings, and tanagers — prefer fruit over seed. Offer orange halves, apple slices, or raisins, and you may attract colorful birds you'd otherwise miss. A simple fruit feeder or a skewer of orange halves is all it takes.

Offer a variety

The best approach is to offer a few different foods in a few different feeders — sunflower for the general crowd, nyjer for finches, suet for woodpeckers. Variety attracts the greatest diversity of birds. Start with sunflower, then add foods for the birds you want more of.

Store seed the right way

Good seed deserves good storage. Keep it in a sealed, dry container, away from moisture and pests, and buy only as much as you'll use in a few weeks. Damp or stale seed loses its appeal and can grow mold that harms birds. Fresh, well-stored seed keeps your feeders busy.

A metal bin with a tight lid is ideal, since it keeps out mice and insects. A little care in storage means every handful you put out is fresh and healthy.

Experiment to find favorites

Every yard is different, and the birds in your area will have their own preferences. The best way to learn what works is to experiment — offer a new food, watch what happens, and adjust. Over a season, you'll discover exactly what your local birds love.

That experimentation is part of the fun of feeding birds. Each new food is a chance to attract a bird you haven't seen before.

Keep it simple to start

You don't need a dozen foods to feed birds well — a bag of black-oil sunflower seed and a suet cake will bring a wonderful variety. Add other foods as you learn what your birds prefer. A simple, quality setup beats a complicated one you can't maintain.