Birds 45 guides

Attract backyard birds, species by species

How to attract the species you want to see, with food, feeders, plants and nest boxes.

How-to guides

7 guides

An adult Cooper's Hawk with a dark cap, gray back and orange-barred chest perched on a branch among green leaves

Cooper's Hawk vs Sharp-shinned Hawk: How to Tell Them Apart

Cooper's Hawk vs Sharp-shinned Hawk: check the head, tail tip and nape first. Cooper's has a big head, rounded tail and dark cap; the Sharpie is small-headed.

An all-black American Crow with a heavy black bill in a park in Brooklyn, New York

Birds 8 min read

Crow vs Raven: How to Tell Them Apart

Crow vs raven: ravens are bigger, with a wedge-shaped tail, shaggy throat and deep croak. Crows are smaller, with a fan-shaped tail and a cawing call.

A male Downy Woodpecker with a small red patch on the back of its head clinging to a tree, showing white underparts and black-and-white wings

Birds 9 min read

Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker: 5 Ways to Tell Them Apart

Downy vs hairy woodpecker: check the bill first. A downy's bill is about a third of its head length, a hairy's about as long. Then tail spots, size and calls.

An adult Bald Eagle with a white head, yellow bill and dark brown body raising its wings as it takes off from a weathered stump, snowy mountains behind

Birds 9 min read

Golden Eagle vs Bald Eagle: How to Tell Them Apart

Bald Eagle vs Golden Eagle: adults differ by head color, but check legs, bill and wing angle too. Bald Eagles soar flat; Golden Eagles hold a shallow V.

A male House Finch with a red forehead, eyebrow and breast and brown-streaked flanks

Birds 9 min read

House Finch vs Purple Finch: How to Tell Them Apart

House Finch vs Purple Finch: check the flanks, face and tail. House Finches have streaky sides and a plain face; Purple Finches look washed in raspberry.

A Red-tailed Hawk with a pale chest and brown back perched on top of a wooden power pole against a clear blue sky

Birds 9 min read

Red-tailed Hawk Identification: Field Marks and Lookalikes

Red-tailed Hawk identification: check for a dark bar on the wing's leading edge, a streaked belly band, a pale V on the back and a rusty tail on adults.

A male Common Goldeneye on open water, with a dark green-black head, a round white spot near the bill and bright white sides

Birds 9 min read

Winter Duck Identification: Common Ducks on Your Pond

Winter duck identification in two steps: dabbler or diver, then one key mark on the head, bill or sides. Field marks for common ducks on open winter water.

Species guides

38 guides

A Bohemian waxwing with a raised crest and yellow-tipped tail reaching for bunches of red berries on a bare branch

Birds 8 min read

Bohemian Waxwing: Winter Irruptions and Where to Look

The Bohemian waxwing is a crested berry eater from the northern forests that floods south in irruption winters when rowan crops fail. How to find and ID one.

A Brown Creeper with streaked brown back and white underparts clinging to the rough dark bark of a leaning tree trunk

Birds 10 min read

Brown Creeper: How to Attract Them to Your Yard

Brown Creeper guide: this bark-colored bird eats insects, so attract it with big trees, suet or peanut butter on trunks, no pesticides and loose-barked snags.

A bright yellow male American Goldfinch clinging to a seed-heavy purple coneflower in a sunny garden

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract American Goldfinches to Your Yard

How to attract American goldfinches: offer fresh nyjer and sunflower in a finch feeder, grow coneflowers and native thistles, add water and keep feeders clean.

An American Robin standing upright on a short green lawn with an earthworm in its bill

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract American Robins to Your Yard

How to attract American Robins: they rarely eat seed, so offer an open lawn, fruiting native shrubs, water, mealworms and a covered nest shelf instead.

An American Tree Sparrow with a rusty cap, gray face and two-toned bill perched on a fallen branch in the snow

Birds 9 min read

How to Attract American Tree Sparrows in Winter

How to attract American Tree Sparrows: scatter white millet on the ground near shrubs, leave seed heads standing and keep water open from fall to spring.

A male hummingbird with a rose-pink head and throat perched on a bare twig beside pink currant flowers in late winter

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Anna's Hummingbirds to Your Yard

How to attract Anna's Hummingbirds: keep a clean 1:4 nectar feeder up all year, stop it freezing, and plant winter-blooming natives like currant and manzanita.

A male Baltimore Oriole perched beside a halved orange on a branch in spring

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Baltimore Orioles: Food, Feeders and Timing

How to attract Baltimore Orioles: put out oranges, a little jelly and sugar water before they arrive in spring, then add tall shade trees and native fruit.

A Barred Owl with dark brown eyes and brown and white barred plumage perched on a branch in a winter woodland

Birds 9 min read

How to Attract Barred Owls to Your Yard: Nest Box Guide

How to attract Barred Owls: keep mature trees near water, put up a large nest box 12 to 15 feet up, skip rat poison, and never lure owls with call playback.

A Black-capped Chickadee perched on a snowy birch branch holding a sunflower seed in its bill

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Black-capped Chickadees to Your Yard

How to attract black-capped chickadees: offer sunflower, peanuts and suet near cover, plant native trees full of caterpillars and put up a 1 1/8 inch nest box.

A Blue Jay picking up a whole peanut from a wooden platform feeder under an oak tree

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Blue Jays: Peanuts, Oaks and Feeders

How to attract blue jays: put peanuts, sunflower seed and suet on a platform or post-mounted hopper, add a birdbath, and plant oaks for acorns and cover.

A Carolina Chickadee perched on an oak twig with a small green caterpillar in its bill in spring

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Carolina Chickadees to Your Yard

How to attract Carolina chickadees: offer sunflower, peanut chips and suet near cover, grow native oaks for caterpillars and add a 1 1/8 inch nest box.

A small rusty-brown wren with a white eyebrow stripe and cocked tail perched on a mossy log beside a brush pile

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Carolina Wrens: Food, Cover and Nest Boxes

Attract Carolina wrens with dense brush, suet and mealworms near cover and a sheltered wren box 3 to 6 feet up. Plants, box specs and winter tips inside.

A small flock of Cedar Waxwings perched among clusters of red berries on a bare winter branch

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Cedar Waxwings With Native Berries

How to attract cedar waxwings: plant native berry shrubs like serviceberry, dogwood, juniper and winterberry, add moving water, and skip the seed feeder.

A slate-gray Dark-eyed Junco with a white belly and pink bill hopping on snow beneath a shrub

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Dark-eyed Juncos: Ground Feeding Guide

How to attract Dark-eyed Juncos: scatter white millet on the ground or a low tray near shrubs and brush piles, add open water, and leave seed heads for winter.

A small black-and-white woodpecker with a red nape patch clinging to a suet cage hanging from a bare branch

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Downy Woodpeckers: Suet, Food and Habitat

How to attract downy woodpeckers: offer suet, peanuts and black oil sunflower, keep native plants with seed heads and galls, and leave safe dead limbs standing.

A male bluebird with deep blue back and rusty orange breast perched on top of a wooden nest box on a pole in an open field

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Eastern Bluebirds: Nest Boxes and Food

How to attract Eastern Bluebirds: mount a correctly sized nest box with a predator guard facing open lawn, offer mealworms, and plant native berry shrubs.

A male Eastern Towhee with a black head and back, rusty orange sides and a white belly, perched among branches

Birds 9 min read

How to Attract Eastern Towhees to Your Yard

How to attract Eastern Towhees: scatter seed on the ground near dense shrubs, leave leaf litter, add a brush pile and low water. Diet, nesting and ID tips.

Close-up of a Great Horned Owl with long ear tufts, bright yellow eyes and dark mottled brown plumage

Birds 9 min read

How to Attract Great Horned Owls: Nest Platforms and Habitat

How to attract Great Horned Owls: keep big trees beside open ground, put up a nest cone 15 to 45 feet up by fall, skip rat poison and never lure with calls.

A black-and-white woodpecker with a long straight bill and a red patch on the back of the head clinging to a large tree trunk

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Hairy Woodpeckers: Suet, Trees and Snags

How to attract hairy woodpeckers: offer suet, peanuts and black oil sunflower in winter, keep mature trees near feeders, and leave safe dead trees standing.

A red-headed male House Finch and a streaky brown female perched on a tube feeder

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract House Finches (and Keep Them Healthy)

How to attract House Finches: black oil sunflower in a tube or hopper feeder, clean feeders to prevent eye disease, and shrubs or ledges nearby for nesting.

A small plain brown wren singing from the roof of a wooden birdhouse hanging in a leafy shrub

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract House Wrens With the Right Nest Box

How to attract house wrens: hang a small-hole wren box by shrubs before spring, add a brush pile, skip pesticides, and keep it clear of your bluebird boxes.

A small all-blue songbird singing from the tip of a tall stem at the edge of a weedy meadow

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Indigo Buntings: Habitat, Seed and Water

How to attract indigo buntings: leave a weedy, shrubby edge with native seed plants, add nyjer or live mealworms in spring, offer water and skip pesticides.

Two Mourning Doves feeding on scattered seed on a low wooden platform feeder

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Mourning Doves: Ground Feeding and Nesting

Attract Mourning Doves with white proso millet on the ground or a low platform near cover, a shallow birdbath, and dense trees or a nest cone to build on.

A male and female Northern Cardinal perched in a snowy shrub beside a platform feeder

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Northern Cardinals: Seed, Cover and Water

How to attract northern cardinals: offer sunflower or safflower on a sturdy platform or hopper, keep dense shrubs close, add water, and plant native berries.

A large brown woodpecker with black spots and a black chest crescent probing the ground in a grassy lawn

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Northern Flickers: Ants, Berries and Boxes

How to attract northern flickers: skip lawn insecticides so ants thrive, plant native berry shrubs, add a bird bath, and mount a wood-chip-filled nest box.

A slender gray songbird with white wing patches singing from the top of a berry-laden holly shrub

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Northern Mockingbirds With Berry Shrubs

How to attract northern mockingbirds: plant native berry shrubs, keep open lawn nearby, add dense nesting cover, offer fruit or suet, and avoid pesticides.

A large black woodpecker with a flaming red crest clinging to a hanging suet feeder beside a wooded yard

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Pileated Woodpeckers: Dead Wood and Suet

How to attract Pileated Woodpeckers: keep dead trees and logs, offer suet in a feeder with a tail prop, and live near mature woods. What works and what doesn't.

A pale woodpecker with a black-and-white barred back and a red cap and nape clinging to a tree beside a hanging suet feeder

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Red-bellied Woodpeckers: Suet, Nuts, Fruit

How to attract red-bellied woodpeckers: offer suet, peanuts, sunflower and fruit near large trees, keep dead limbs standing, and limit starlings near nests.

A small blue-gray nuthatch with a black eye stripe and rusty underparts clinging head-down to a spruce trunk

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Red-breasted Nuthatches Near Conifers

How to attract red-breasted nuthatches: offer peanuts, sunflower hearts and suet near conifers, and watch for irruption years when they move south in numbers.

A redpoll with a red forehead and black chin feeding on thistle seeds in winter

Birds 9 min read

How to Attract Redpolls: Nyjer, Birches and Timing

How to attract redpolls: hang a nyjer tube or mesh feeder, add hulled sunflower and millet, keep birches nearby, and watch for irruption winters.

A black and white songbird with a rose-red breast patch perched on a spring maple branch near a seed feeder

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Rose-breasted Grosbeaks to Your Yard

How to attract rose-breasted grosbeaks: black oil sunflower or safflower on a sturdy feeder by trees, set out before spring migration, plus native berry shrubs.

A male hummingbird with a glowing red throat hovering at a red tubular wildflower in a summer garden

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to Your Yard

How to attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: hang a clean feeder with 1:4 sugar water a week before they arrive, plant red tubular natives and skip pesticides.

A streaky brown Song Sparrow singing from the top of a low shrub at the edge of a garden

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract Song Sparrows: Cover, Seed and Water

How to attract song sparrows: scatter millet and sunflower chips low near dense shrubs, add a brush pile and shallow water, and leave some brushy edges unmowed.

A Tufted Titmouse with its gray crest raised, perched on an oak branch holding a sunflower seed

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Tufted Titmice: Food, Trees and Nest Boxes

How to attract tufted titmice: offer black oil sunflower, peanuts and suet near mature trees, plant native oaks and put up a 1 1/4 inch hole nest box.

A male bluebird with a blue throat and rust-orange breast and shoulders perched on a branch of a berry-laden elderberry shrub

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract Western Bluebirds: Nest Boxes and Food

How to attract Western Bluebirds: mount a guarded nest box with a 1.5 to 1 9/16 in hole near open ground, offer mealworms and plant native berry shrubs.

A White-breasted Nuthatch clinging headfirst down the bark of an oak trunk with a peanut in its bill

Birds 13 min read

How to Attract White-breasted Nuthatches to Your Yard

How to attract white-breasted nuthatches: offer sunflower, peanuts and suet near large trees, keep mature oaks and dead limbs, and try a 1 1/4 inch nest box.

A White-throated Sparrow scratching in fallen leaves beneath a shrub in late autumn

Birds 12 min read

How to Attract White-throated Sparrows in Winter

How to attract white-throated sparrows: scatter millet and sunflower on the ground near thickets, keep a brush pile and leaf litter, and offer water in winter.

A Golden-crowned Kinglet with a yellow crown stripe and black-and-white striped face perched on a thin twig among cedar foliage

Birds 9 min read

What Attracts Golden-crowned Kinglets to Your Yard?

How to attract Golden-crowned Kinglets: they rarely eat seed, so plant conifers, skip pesticides, add a brush pile and water, and put suet crumbs by cover.

To attract backyard birds reliably, plan for one species at a time, and this hub gives you species-by-species guides covering the food, feeders, plants, water and nest boxes each bird actually uses. Every guide includes an at-a-glance table, identification tips for males, females and young birds, and a seasonal calendar based on sources such as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. Start with the birds already in your region and season. A Northern Cardinal or Black-capped Chickadee may visit within days of putting out sunflower seed, while a Baltimore Oriole passes through only in spring and summer and needs fruit, jelly or nectar.

The decisions that matter most are food, cover and nesting. Food gets birds to stop by, but cover makes them stay: most songbirds want dense shrubs or trees within about 10 to 15 ft (3 to 4.5 m) of a feeder so they can escape hawks. Nesting is what turns visitors into residents. Cavity nesters such as bluebirds, wrens, chickadees and titmice will use nest boxes if the entrance hole is sized for them, while cardinals, robins and mockingbirds nest in shrubs and need thick native plantings instead. Ground feeders such as juncos, doves and sparrows prefer seed scattered on a low platform or clear patch of ground.

Common mistakes: expecting a bird outside its range or season, offering the wrong food for its bill (orioles rarely eat seed), and putting up a nest box with an oversized hole that invites house sparrows. Check a range map first, then read the guide for your target species and the food and nest box guides it links to. Patience matters too: many species take a full season to find and trust a new yard.

How to attract Northern Cardinals - seed, cover and water.
How to attract Black-capped Chickadees - the easiest first feeder bird in much of the north.
How to attract Eastern Bluebirds - nest boxes and mealworms.
How to attract American Goldfinches - nyjer, sunflower and seed heads.
How to attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds - nectar, flowers and timing.
How to attract Downy Woodpeckers - suet, food and habitat.

More guides

Binoculars Bird feeders Bird food Learn Bird facts Birdhouses Bird garden Photography