What backyard birds eat: species by food

Most common feeder birds in North America eat seeds, especially black oil sunflower, which chickadees, titmice, cardinals, finches, nuthatches, jays and grosbeaks all take. Insect eaters such as bluebirds, wrens and robins prefer mealworms and suet. Woodpeckers want suet and peanuts, and hummingbirds and orioles want nectar, with orioles also eating oranges and jelly.

Rarely. American robins eat earthworms, insects and fruit, not seed, so they mostly ignore seed feeders. To feed robins, offer mealworms, chopped apples, softened raisins or berries on a low tray, and keep a bird bath filled. In winter a heated bird bath often draws more robins than any food does.

Juncos, mourning doves, native sparrows, towhees, quail and cardinals often feed on the ground or on low platforms rather than hanging feeders. They prefer white proso millet, cracked corn and sunflower chips scattered on a tray a few inches off the ground, ideally near shrubs they can retreat into, and well away from cat ambush spots.

Suet is the classic woodpecker food, followed by shelled peanuts and black oil sunflower. Downy and hairy woodpeckers use plain suet cages, while larger species such as red-bellied woodpeckers and flickers prefer a feeder with a tail prop that lets them brace the way they do on a tree trunk. Some woodpeckers also visit oriole jelly and orange feeders.

Avoid bread, salted or flavoured nuts, mouldy or wet seed, and anything with added sugar beyond plain sugar water for hummingbirds. Do not use honey or red dye in nectar. Avoid cheap mixes bulked with filler grains that birds discard. Bacon grease and cooking fat can carry salt and go rancid; use commercial suet instead.