If you buy one bag, buy black-oil sunflower. It is high in fat, the shells are thin enough for small beaks, and it attracts the greatest number of species. Almost everything else is a refinement on that.
What each seed actually brings in
| Seed | Who eats it | Worth buying? |
|---|---|---|
| Black-oil sunflower | Cardinals, chickadees, finches, sparrows; woodpeckers occasionally | Yes — start here |
| Hulled sunflower | Everything that eats sunflower | Yes, if you hate the mess — no shells underneath |
| Safflower | Cardinals and other big-billed birds | Yes, if squirrels and starlings are a problem |
| Nyjer (thistle) | Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls | Yes, but needs a feeder with tiny ports |
| White proso millet | Juncos, sparrows and other ground feeders | Yes — scatter on the ground, preferred over red millet |
| Peanuts | Jays, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice | Yes — plain only, never salted or coated |
| Cracked corn | Doves, quail, sparrows | Cheap filler, fine on a platform |
| Milo | Little appeal to most birds; western birds eat more of it | No — avoid eastern mixes heavy in milo |
| Supermarket mixed seed | Birds pick out the sunflower | No — the rest rots on the ground |
The safflower trick
Safflower is the quiet answer to three problems at once. Cardinals take it happily, but starlings, House Sparrows and squirrels generally leave it alone — squirrels because they dislike the taste. If your feeder is being emptied by the wrong customers, switching to safflower costs you nothing but a bag.
Why the cheap bag is not cheap
A standard supermarket mix is mostly filler. Birds throw the milo and red millet on the ground looking for sunflower, and it sits there and moulds. You pay for seed that never gets eaten and then you clean it up.
If you want to blend your own, sunflower plus white millet plus cracked corn covers most yards. Store it in a tight, waterproof metal container so rodents cannot get in.
Match the feeder to the seed
- Tube feeder — finches, titmice, chickadees. Nyjer needs the small-port version.
- Hopper feeder — cardinals, jays, grosbeaks.
- Tray or platform near the ground — juncos, sparrows, towhees, doves.
- Suet cage — woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees. Plastic-coated wire works best.
A good feeder keeps seed dry, holds enough that you are not refilling daily, and comes apart for cleaning. That last one matters more than any feature on the box.
Throw out mouldy food
Moulds can produce toxins that are harmful to birds. Mouldy fruit and mouldy peanut hearts go in the bin, not the feeder.
Sources
- Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — food types
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Winter Bird Feeding
Last reviewed: October 2026.