General Bird Seed Guide

[Mayfly]

Corn:
Dried whole kernel corn is a favorite food of jays, pigeons, doves, turkeys, pheasants, and quail. Cracked corn is easier for smaller birds to eat, and will attract blackbirds, finches, and sparrows, as well as the larger birds mentioned above.

Millet:
There are two types of millet: red and white. Most birds find white proso millet more attractive than the red variety. Millet appeals to many ground-feeding birds, such as doves, juncos, and sparrows. However, it also attracts undesirable non-native species such as European Starlings and House Sparrows.


Milo:
The large, reddish, round seeds of milo (or sorghum) are often used as "filler" in birdseed mixes. Most birds will only eat it if there's nothing better. Be aware that it also may attract undesirable aggressive birds such as cowbirds, starlings, and grackles.


Safflower:
A particular favorite of cardinals, safflower is often more expensive than sunflower seed. Gosbeaks, sparrows, and doves also like it. It's sometimes suggested for dissuading undesirable species because it may have less appeal to starlings, House Sparrows, and squirrels.


Nyjer:
(sometimes spelled "niger")
This is commonly known as thistle seed, although it's unrelated to native thistles. Its tiny seeds attract small finches such as goldfinches, siskins, and redpolls (Common Redpoll at left). Nyjer is expensive, so it's best offered in specially-designed thistle seed feeders (see our Feeder Types section), which have tiny feeding ports that prevent spilling and dissuade larger birds.

Sunflower:
Black-oil sunflower seed is the all-round favorite for bird feeders, particularly attractive to tree-dwelling birds. It has a high meat-to-shell ratio and is high in fat. Small size and thin shell make it easy for small birds, such as the Black-capped Chickadee pictured at right, to handle and crack.

Striped sunflower seeds are larger and have thicker seed coats, making them more difficult for small birds to process


Peanuts:
Titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, cardinals, jays, many sparrows, and even Carolina Wrens are attracted to peanuts. They can be offered shelled or whole. Peanut feeders are specially-designed wire-mesh cages, often cylindrical.


Mixed Seed:
This is best sprinkled on the ground or onto platform feeders. Mixed seed typically contains high quantities of millet, preferred by ground-feeding birds. Many feeder birds will not eat millet. Likewise, ground-feeding birds that favor millet will not have access to it if it's in a feeder. Try filling hanging feeders with sunflower seeds and spreading mixed seed for ground-feeding birds.

[Realtree]

Great info. Thanks Mayfly.

[Realtree]

Is there any bird seed/feed out there that those pesky Blackbirds don't eat. They are wolfing down half the feed in my feeders in a couple of days. I even have a couple of squirrels that figured out a way to shimmy up the shepherds hook and hang upside down to steal from the bird feeder....ugh!   :gunsmilie:  ::50cal::  ::