
Bird Behavior and Bird Seed Preferences |
Getting to know the birds visiting your yard can help you determine what their bird seed preferences are. Common birds visiting your bird feeders can be grouped into three different categories: "Sit n' Eat", "Grab n' Go", and Floor Feeders. Click here for a printer-friendly version of Bird Behavior and Bird Seed Preferences. "Sit n' Eat" species visit a feeder and stay at the feeder while they feed. These species include small and large finches, cardinals and grosbeaks. Sit n' Eat species prefer three major seed types. Small finches including goldfinches and siskins prefer Nyjer® and sunflower hearts, while the other Sit n' Eat species feed readily on black-oil sunflower. To attract small and large finches consider offering a tubular feeder filled with a blend of their preferred seed. For other larger Sit n' Eat species, hopper and platform feeders filled with large proportions of black-oil sunflower would be appropriate. |