Types of Bird Food

General Tips:

• Store Bought Wild Bird Food Mixes are Costly.
• Variables in Bird Feeding Environments Make it Difficult to Target Species.
• There are Inexpensive Food Alternatives.

The bird feeding experience is influenced by the quality of the wild bird food presented and the effectiveness with which it is made available to the birds. Foods vary greatly in their attractiveness and some bird feeders have a much higher innate attractiveness than others.

The most comprehensive report ever written on the relative attractiveness of various commercially available wild bird seeds is entitled, "Feeding Preferences of Wild Birds at Feeders." It was carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to verify the surprising results of Special Scientific Report 233 entitled, "Relative Attractiveness of Different Foods at Wild Bird Feeders." The reports are based on research conducted in Maryland by Dr. Aelred Geis (now Director of Research for Wild Bird Centers of America), and then expanded nationwide.

The findings of Dr. Geiss have been cited in almost every major book on bird feeding written in the last ten years, including the Ortho Series on Attracting Wild Birds, and the Audubon Society publications. However, none of these popular accounts provide the detailed information found in Report 233. Report 233 documents the clear superiority of oil-type sunflower over black stripe sunflower and demonstrates the lack of attractiveness of many seeds sold as bird food.

The striking differences in seed preferences among bird species clearly suggests why wild bird food mixes are inefficient and illogical. Unfortunately, the bird feeding public has been trained by the bird food industry to use wild bird food mixes. This usually results in lower feeding efficiency, wasted money and other problems. However, at every opportunity, an effort should be made to educate the public about the ineffectiveness of mixes. The basis for the argument against mixes is as follows:

l. The species composition of birds present in an area varies from place to place and time to time in the same area. Therefore, it is impossible to produce a mix that fits this great variability.

2. Different species of birds prefer to feed in different situations, i.e., on different types of feeders, and at varying heights. Therefore, when a bird seed mix is placed in a small, elevated feeder, the birds that prefer that type of feeder remove the few seeds that they prefer and can reach. After that, there is no bird feeding activity.

For an in-depth analysis of using such "inexpensive" foods as cracked corn, wheat, and milo, see Dr. Aelred Geis' report "Feeding Preferences of Wild Birds at Feeders." It is clear that the greatest number of bird visits and probably least cost per bird visit occurs when high-quality foods are used. However, the daily costs of feeding are much higher when attractive foods are used for the principal reason that more foods are consumed. The results of using "cheap" foods (corn, wheat, milo) are lower daily feeding costs which satisfy the uninformed or casual feeder.