Just like people, birds have favorite foods. Here’s a list of birds that visit feeders and the seeds they like best. See this page for information about the right types of feeders to use for different kinds of birdseed.
| ( ) = Favorite seeds | Sunflower B=black S=striped C=chips | Safflower | Millet | Corn C=cracked W=whole | Thistle | Suet | Peanuts (hulled) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Goldfinch | B C | (X) | X | ||||
| Blue Jay | B (S) | X | C | (X) | |||
| Bluebird species | (B) S C | X | X | C | XF | ||
| Brown Thrasher | B C | C | X | X (chips) | |||
| Carolina Wren | C | X | X | ||||
| Chickadee species | B S C | X | X | X (chips) | |||
| Common Flicker | B | X | |||||
| Dark-eyed Junco | B (hulled) | X | X | C | X | X (chips) | |
| Dove species | B C | X | (X) | C | X | ||
| Grosbeak species | (B) S | ||||||
| House Finch | (B) S C | X | C | X | X | ||
| Northern Cardinal | (B) S C | X | X | C | X | ||
| Pine Sisken | B (C) | X | (X) | X | |||
| Purple Finch | (B) S | X | |||||
| Pyrrhuloxia | B C | C | |||||
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | B S | X | |||||
| Red-winged Blackbird | B C | X | C | ||||
| Redpoll species | B | ||||||
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | C | X | X (chips) | ||||
| Sparrow species | B C | X | C | X | |||
| Stellar's Jay | B (S) | ||||||
| White-breasted Nuthatch | (B) S | X | X | X | |||
| Woodpecker species | B S | X | C | X | X |
*Top photo: Red-bellied Woodpecker, male. (© Carolyn Russell)
