Who's at the Feeder?
Pick a feeder and a food, and see which backyard birds would come to eat.
15 of 38 backyard birds would visit
No regular visitors with this combination. Try a different food.
Get this setup
A simple, durable tube feeder that small songbirds love. Easy to fill, easy to clean, and built to last for years.
Check price on Amazon for Droll Yankees Classic Tube Feeder (20-inch, 6 ports) (opens Amazon)A big metal hopper feeder for yards with lots of birds. A weighted perch bar closes the seed tray when a squirrel steps on it.
Check price on Amazon for Woodlink Absolute II Squirrel-Resistant Feeder (opens Amazon)An open tray feeder that welcomes the widest range of birds, including cardinals, doves, jays, and juncos that prefer to feed in the open.
Check price on Amazon for Woodlink 3-in-1 Platform Feeder (opens Amazon)Suction cups hold this clear feeder right on your window for the closest views you'll ever get, no yard needed. Perfect for apartments and indoor cats who love the show.
Check price on Amazon for Nature's Hangout Window Bird Feeder (opens Amazon)Built for tiny Nyjer seed and the goldfinches that love it, with the same squirrel-stopping shroud as the rest of the line.
Check price on Amazon for Brome Squirrel Buster Nyjer Feeder (opens Amazon)Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees happily hang upside down to eat. Starlings and grackles mostly don't, so the suet goes to the birds you want.
Check price on Amazon for Birds Choice Upside-Down Suet Feeder (opens Amazon)Orioles come for orange halves and a cup of grape jelly. Browse feeders that hold both, plus a nectar port on some models.
Check price on Amazon for Oriole feeders (orange and jelly) (opens Amazon)Our favorite hummingbird feeder because it's the easiest to keep clean. The saucer design comes apart in seconds, a built-in ant moat stops ants, and a raised perch gives you great views.
Check price on Amazon for Aspects HummZinger HighView (opens Amazon)If you only buy one seed, make it black-oil sunflower. It's high in fat, has a thin shell small birds can open, and nearly every seed-eating bird loves it.
Check price on Amazon for Wagner's Black Oil Sunflower Seed (opens Amazon)Sunflower seeds with the shells already removed. No mess on your patio or deck, and no waste, because birds eat every piece.
Check price on Amazon for Lyric Sunflower Kernels (opens Amazon)Cardinals love safflower. Squirrels, grackles, and starlings usually don't, which makes it a smart seed for feeders that get raided.
Check price on Amazon for Wagner's Safflower Seed (opens Amazon)The tiny black seed that goldfinches go crazy for. Use it in a finch feeder with small ports.
Check price on Amazon for Wagner's Nyjer Seed (opens Amazon)High-fat suet cakes that fit standard suet cages. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees rely on fat like this to get through cold nights.
Check price on Amazon for C&S High Energy Suet Cakes (12-pack) (opens Amazon)The way to a bluebird's heart. Dried mealworms also bring in wrens, robins, and chickadees, especially in spring when they're feeding young.
Check price on Amazon for Kaytee Wild Bird Dried Mealworms (opens Amazon)One part white sugar to four parts water. No red dye.
Open the nectar calculatorHow it works
Each bird has favorite foods and feeders it's comfortable on. Cardinals need room to perch, so they skip small tube ports without a ring. Juncos and doves feed on the ground. Woodpeckers and nuthatches cling to suet cages. Hummingbirds and orioles drink nectar. Match the food and the feeder, and you'll get the birds.
Results are for typical backyards. Birds marked West live only in the western US. See the bird feeding chart for more detail.
Frequently asked questions
What feeder attracts the most kinds of birds?
A hopper or tube feeder filled with black-oil sunflower seed. Add a suet feeder, and you'll cover most backyard birds.
Why aren't birds coming to my new feeder?
Give it one to two weeks. Birds need time to find a new feeder, and a spot near shrubs or trees, where they can dart for cover, helps a lot.
What do cardinals like best?
Safflower and sunflower seed on a hopper, platform, or tube feeder with a ring perch. Cardinals are big birds, so they prefer room to sit.