Bird food - different types
Feb 14th, 2008 by Birdy Trish
There are many different types of bird food.
Often a lot of different seeds are mixed together. But seeds can be bought individually and fed to birds . When this happens they are called ’straights’.
I’ve put together a few of the ’straight’ seeds .
- Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are enjoyed by ground feeding birds. Starting the day with a bowl of porridge is a healthy idea and the birds have the same idea! - Cut Maize
This is just maize that has been chopped up into small pieces. Finches enjoy this,but it is eaten usually by larger birds such as collared doves . - Millet
Millet is a very small seed and it is eaten by many seed eating birds. It has a good feed to energy ratio which means that when eaten it does not take long for any bird to turn the Millet into energy. - Niger Seed (Thistle Seed)
Small, long black seeds. These are very popular with finches. If feeding Niger Seed as a ’straight’ it’s best feeding from a special feeder. - Raisins and Sultanas!
These are enjoyed by thrushes, blackbirds, robins (and also hedgehogs)
It is interesting to know about different types of bird food.
Usually the bird mixes are easier to use as they combine a variety of seeds and so help feed a variety of birds.
I put millet in one feeder every day and always have a lot of sparrows visitng this feeder - so straight bird food can be a good thing.
