How do you feed wild birds UK? What do Birds Eat? Looking to draw the attention of some new airborne friends? Want to bring some more wildlife into your garden? The following infographic shows which type of bird food you should be buying for your garden and which feeder each bird prefers!
A quick bird ID guide and feeding chart to the most common UK garden birds. What birds like to eat the most and the type of feeder the prefer to feed from.
Blackbird
The male of the species is jet black with a bright yellow beak. Though the beak colour is browner on younger birds. The female bird is similar in size but its plumage is brown in colour.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Ground mix
- Rolled oats
- Sultanas
- Robin and friends mix
- Chopped peanuts
- Suet products
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Ground feeder
Blue Tit
This small member of the Tit family is brightly coloured, with a blue cap and wings. Their tummies are yellow in colour. One of the most common visitors in our garden.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Ultimate mixes
- Mixed seed
- Premium mixes
- Peanuts
- Black sunflower seeds
- Suet products
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Hanging feeder
Chaffinch
A colourful member of the finch family. The male Chaffinch has a pink breast and cheeks. A blue-grey crown and nape, and chestnut brown back. The female has an olive-brown back. And grey-brown under parts becoming almost white towards the rump, which is greenish. The juveniles are similar to the female but lack the greenish rump.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Premium mixes
- Ultimate mixes
- Peanuts
- Black sunflower seeds
- Mixed seed
- Ground mix
Best feeder
Ground feeder / Hanging feeder
Collared Dove
The delicately coloured plumage of the collared dove is a blend of pinkish sandy-browns and greys. Both male and female birds have the black half collar finely outlined with white around the nape of the neck. The young do not develop their collar until after their first moult.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Black sunflower seeds
- Mixed seed
- Ultimate mixes
- Premium mixes
- Ground mix
- Wheat
- Rolled oats
Best feeder
Ground feeder
Dunnock
Both male and female are alike in their grey colour but the younger birds tend to be more brown and striped. They can also be identified by their thin bill and orange legs.
Favoured foods
- Chopped peanuts
- Ground mix
- Mixed seed
- Ultimate mixes
- Premium mixes
- Oats
- Live mealworms
- Suet products
Best feeder
Ground feeder
Goldfinch
These small birds are highly decorated in colour. Their bodies are fawn in colour, their wings are black and white with a flash of yellow. Their heads are a vibrant red with flashes of black and white. They have a long beak which enables them to extract seeds from the teasel and thistles, or niger seed in special feeders.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Niger seeds
- Ultimate mixes
- Black sunflower seeds
- Premium mixes
Best feeder
Hanging feeder
Great Spotted Woodpecker
A very distinctive brightly coloured bird with black and white features with a red patch under the tail. The male has a red patch at the back of his head, while the female has a black nape. Younger birds have a red skull cap.
Favoured foods
- Peanut
- Sunflower hearts
- Suet products
Best feeder
Hanging feeder
Great Tit
The largest member of the Tit family, it is easily recognised by its black head and black breast stripe, bright yellow belly and green upper body. The male has a thicker breast stripe than the female.
Favoured foods
- Suet products
- Sunflower hearts
- Ultimate mixes
- Peanuts
- Black sunflower seeds
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Hanging feeder
Greenfinch
Similar in size to a House Sparrow, the greenfinch is a chunky-looking finch. The male Greenfinch is known for it olive-green back and bright yellow patches in its wings and tail. The female is duller with streaky upper parts. Juvenile Greenfinches are similar to the female but browner.
Favoured foods
- Mixed seeds
- Premium mixes
- Ultimate mixes
- Sunflower hearts
- Black sunflower seeds
- Ground mix
- Peanuts
Best feeder
Ground feeder / Hanging feeder
House Sparrow
The male House Sparrow has a black bib with grey cheeks, crown and rump. The female is more uniformly brown with a paler front. Juveniles resemble the female.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Mixed seed
- Premium mixes
- Ultimate mixes
- Ground mix
- Black sunflower seeds
- Wheat
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Ground feeder / Hanging feeder
Long Tailed Tit
The Long-tailed Tit is easily recognised as its tail is longer than its body. They have smalle bodies of what looks like black and white plumage but on closer inspection they are pinkish and their long tail is black in colour. They have a very small beak which is black.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Suet products
- Peanuts
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Hanging feeder
Robin
One of the most distinctive birds seen in Britain and certainly the best loved. Both male and female birds are identical with their red breast and olive brown upper parts. Juveniles have a speckled breast instead of the red.
Favoured foods
- Ultimate mixes
- Sunflower hearts
- Ground mix
- Sultanas
- Robin and friends mix
- Oats
- Suet products
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Ground feeder
Siskin
Both male and female have broad yellow wing bars and the male has a black cap and bib during the summer months. The female is brown and streaky with yellow and green in it to keep her hidden when on the nest. A small finch which is increasing in numbers across the UK, and now is a regular visitor to many gardens.
Favoured foods
- Sunflower hearts
- Niger seed
- Ultimate mixes
- Premium mixes
- Mixed seed
- Black sunflower seeds
- Peanuts
Best feeder
Ground feeder / Hanging feeder
Wood Pigeon
The Wood Pigeon is Britain’s largest and most common pigeon. It has a grey head, white collar and an ample pinky-grey breast. Its five note cooing can be heard as early as february. These birds have a voracious appetite and are prolific breeders.
Favoured foods
- Wheat
- Mixed seed
- Premium mix
Best feeder
Ground feeder
Starling
The plumage is shiny black and white speckles during winter, revealing purple and green glints in the summer sunshine. The young are grey-brown until their first moult.
Favoured foods
- Ground mix
- Robin and friends mix
- Sultanas
- Suet products
- Live mealworms
Best feeder
Ground feeder / Hanging feeder
Wren
This tiny bird has mottled brown plumage, characterised by its cocked tail and very small neck. It is a small dumpy bird with long legs and toes, but with a very loud song!
Favoured foods
- Dried mealworms
- Live mealworms
- Suet products
- Chopped peanuts
Best feeder
Ground feeder
Brought to you by vinehousefarm.co.uk
I love birds so much because of their different roles, if you know birds
This is very useful. I love watching the birds and now I know how to attract more to my yard.
love bird watching
I recently moved from a VERY large city to one with a population of about 225,000, and now that I have a real backyard I’m starting to see birds around! 🙂 So, I found this infographic very helpful. Thank you!