The best feed and birdseed for backyard wild birds

You've set up a feeder and you even placed some birdseed on it. The birds come and go, but what you want is to see your favorite birds coming back consistently and to see them anxious for the goodies you lay out for them.

Birds can be as different as people when it comes to their food preferences. You probably won't attract cardinals with the same feed you would put out for doves. Below is a list of common backyard birds and their favorite food choices.

Cardinals: fruit (you might also want to grow shrubs that produce winter berries) and nectar, black oil sunflower seed, suet and peanut butter suet.

Sparrows: safflower seed, black oil sunflower seed, white proso millet, cracked corn, peanuts and peanut hearts, and niger thistle.

Bluejays: black oil sunflower seed, cracked corn, peanuts and peanut butter suet, and fruit.

Finches: black oil sunflower seed, niger thistle, crushed peanuts, peanut butter suet, and nectar.

Woodpeckers: black oil sunflower seed, fruit, nectar(they usually get this out of trees such as white birch or willow), suet and peanut butter suet.

Doves: white proso millet, cracked corn, niger thistle, and peanut hearts.

Juncos: millet, sunflower seed, niger thistle, cracked corn, peanut hearts and beanut butter suet. (Juncos are primarily ground feeders).

Bluebirds: suet and fruit.

Hummingbirds: nectar and fruit. Other nectar and fruit eaters include thrushes, orioles, mockingbirds, cedar waxwings, and tanagers.

Wrens: suet and peanut butter suet.

Thrushes: peanut butter suet, fruit, and nectar.

Phesants and quail prefer cracked corn.

This is just a sampling of common backyard birds and the food they prefer. Most birds will come for sunflower seeds, but to attract a variety of birds you may want to offer a variety of foods. If there is a specific species you sincerely wish to attract, it is best to consult a bird guide so you can determine their feeding habits, such as gound feeder or tree feeder, as well as food preferences.