What Can You Feed Backyard Birds? A Food-by-Food Guide

Quick answer

Start with black-oil sunflower, then add one specialist food

Best all-round: Black-oil sunflower. High energy, thin shell, eaten by cardinals, chickadees, finches, sparrows and sometimes woodpeckers.
For finches: Nyjer, in a dedicated small-port feeder, fed on its own.
For insect-eaters: Suet, and mealworms if you want bluebirds.
For ground birds: Millet and cracked corn, on the ground or a low tray.
For hummingbirds: One part white sugar to four parts water. No dye, no honey, no sweetener.
Never: Mouldy food, salted or flavoured peanuts, bread as a staple, and anything with added salt or sugar syrups.

How to use this guide

The most useful question is not "what is the best bird food?" but "which birds do I actually have, and what do they eat?" Project FeederWatch, the Cornell Lab and Birds Canada monitoring project, makes the same point: which foods and feeders work depends on the species you hope to attract.

So each entry below answers four things: what the food is, which birds it reliably attracts, how to offer it, and what goes wrong. The "who it brings" column describes the birds the source names — not a guarantee for your garden.

Two feeders beat one bag of mix

A tube of black-oil sunflower for birds that perch, plus a small dish of something specialist for birds that do not. A cheap "wild bird mix" tries to serve everyone and usually serves no one well.

Seeds and grains

Food	Who it reliably attracts	How to offer it	Watch out for
Black-oil sunflower	Cardinals, chickadees, finches, sparrows; woodpeckers sometimes	Tube, hopper or platform	Hulls pile up underneath — rake regularly
Hulled sunflower	Anything that eats sunflower, often preferred	Tube or hopper, kept dry	Spoils faster than seed in the shell
Nyjer	American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll	Dedicated small-port feeder, on its own	Needs tiny ports or it spills; never mix it in
Safflower	Cardinals and other big-billed birds	Tube or hopper	Most birds prefer sunflower when both are offered
Millet	Juncos, sparrows and other small ground feeders	Scattered on the ground or a low platform	Ground food attracts rodents if left to rot
Cracked corn	Doves, quail, sparrows; whole corn for turkeys and ducks	Ground or platform, often mixed with millet	Cheap and bulky; easy to over-buy
Oats	Doves and quail	Platform or hopper	Rarely found in modern mixes; little demand
Milo	Some western birds; most eastern birds ignore it	—	Common filler in cheap mixes; often wasted

Two things are worth repeating from FeederWatch. First, black-oil sunflower is the most common seed offered in North America, high in energy with thin shells, and a favourite of cardinals, chickadees, finches and sparrows. Second, milo is often a major component of inexpensive mixes but "is not a favorite of most birds," and the seed often goes to waste. In eastern North America, a mix with a lot of milo is mostly packaging.

If something is already going wrong at your feeder — crusty eyes, a lethargic bird, a feeder that has gone damp — read a sick bird at your feeder before changing the food.

Read the first three ingredients

Bird-seed bags list ingredients by weight. If wheat, milo or "grain products" are near the top, most feeder birds will sort through it and throw out what you paid for.

Suet, peanuts and mealworms

Food	Who it reliably attracts	How to offer it	Watch out for
Suet	Insect-eating birds: woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees	Cage, or tied to a trunk	Can turn rancid in hot weather unless processed for it
Plain peanuts	Jays, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches	Platform, hopper, or in the shell for jays	Never salted or flavoured; discard any that mould
Peanut hearts	Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, jays	Small hopper or platform	High energy; watch for mould
Mealworms	Chickadees, titmice, wrens, nuthatches — and reliably bluebirds	Flat tray or a dedicated mealworm feeder	Live or dried both work; keep them dry

FeederWatch describes suet as a good choice for attracting insect-eating birds, most commonly beef kidney fat, and notes that processed cakes may include seeds and berries. The same page warns that suet can become rancid in hot weather if it has not been specially processed — which is why summer suet needs either a warm-weather formulation or a break.

Mealworms are the standout here: FeederWatch calls them one of the only food items that reliably attract bluebirds. They are the larvae of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, and both live and dried forms are sold.

Fruit and nectar

Fruit is underused. FeederWatch notes that oranges cut in half often attract orioles, which sip the juice and eat the flesh. Grapes and raisins (without preservatives) are a favourite of many fruit-eating birds, and mockingbirds, catbirds, bluebirds, robins and waxwings are all likely to feed on fruit. Dried seeds of fruits such as pumpkin or apple also attract some species.

Two warnings matter here. Dispose of any fruit that becomes mouldy, because some moulds create toxins that are harmful to birds. And fruit is not a substitute for seed for seed-eaters — it is a different offer for a different group.

Nectar is sugar and water, nothing else

FeederWatch's method is one part sugar to four parts boiling water, stirred and cooled. Do not add red food colouring — it is harmful to birds. A red portal or a ribbon on the feeder does the same job. Never use honey, brown sugar or artificial sweetener.

Eggshell, grit and water

Crushed eggshell. FeederWatch notes sterilised, crushed eggshell as a calcium source, which matters for egg-laying females. Boil shells for ten minutes, let them cool, then crush to about sunflower-seed size and offer in a separate dish — never mixed into seed. Eggshell also provides grit.
Grit. Birds "chew" in the gizzard and swallow small hard materials to help grind food. FeederWatch lists sand, small pebbles, ground eggshell and ground oyster shell. Oyster and egg shell have the added benefit of calcium.
Water. Birds need water for drinking and bathing, and are attracted to it as much as to food. Change it often; a ground-level bath should have stones or branches so birds can stand and drink without getting wet, which matters especially in winter. Never add antifreeze — it is poisonous to all animals, including birds.

What not to feed

Do not offer	Why
Mouldy seed, fruit or bread	FeederWatch warns that some moulds create toxins harmful to birds. Throw it out, do not pick around it.
Salted or flavoured peanuts	FeederWatch advises avoiding salted peanuts and peanuts roasted with coatings or flavourings.
Red dye, honey, brown sugar, sweetener	Not appropriate for nectar. Red colouring is specifically described as harmful.
Bread as a staple	Little nutritional value for birds and it spoils quickly. It is not a bird food, even if birds eat it.
Bacon fat and salty kitchen scraps	High salt and preservatives. Plain suet is the appropriate fat.
Chocolate, caffeine, alcohol	Not bird food. Keep them out of anything you put on a feeder.
Antifreeze in water	Poisonous to all animals, including birds.

This is not a complete toxicity list

The safest rule is simple: feed bird food, not people food. If you are unsure whether something is safe, do not put it out. If you suspect a bird has been poisoned, contact a wildlife rehabilitator rather than trying to treat it yourself.

Storage and spoilage

Keep seed dry and sealed. Moisture starts mould. A metal bin with a lid beats a bag in a damp shed.
Buy what you will finish. Hulled sunflower and nyjer spoil faster than sunflower in the shell.
Empty before refilling. Do not layer fresh seed over clumps or damp.
Rake underneath. Hulls and spoiled seed build a wet mat that grows mould and attracts rodents.
Clean feeders every week or two, and more often during heavy use or wet weather. Hummingbird feeders need cleaning every couple of days in warm weather.

Frequently asked questions

Can birds eat uncooked rice?

The old idea that rice swells inside a bird and kills it is not supported. The practical issue is that rice offers little nutrition and spoils when wet. It is a filler, not a poison — but it is still not a good feeder food.

Is bread bad for birds?

It is not toxic, but it has little nutritional value for birds and it spoils quickly. Use seed, suet, fruit or mealworms instead.

Can I feed leftovers?

Generally no. Salt, sugar, sauces and preservatives are the problem. Plain fruit and plain suet are the exceptions.

Do birds need grit?

FeederWatch notes that birds swallow small hard materials to help grind food in the gizzard, and lists sand, small pebbles, ground eggshell and ground oyster shell. Offering crushed eggshell covers both grit and calcium.

What is the single best food to buy?

For the widest range of common feeder birds, black-oil sunflower. For a specialist, match the food to the bird: nyjer for finches, suet for woodpeckers, mealworms for bluebirds, nectar for hummingbirds.

Sources and research notes

Food-by-food guidance follows Project FeederWatch's published food-type and cleaning advice. Safety statements are limited to what the source supports; this guide does not attempt a complete toxicity list.