Feeding by Design
Garden birds are not all designed to eat the same way. Different species have evolved specialised beaks, tongues, and feeding behaviors to suit the types of food they eat. Here’s how it works:
Birds beaks are like tools with each one adapted for a different job:
FINCHES (such as chaffinches and greenfinch)
Beak: Short, thick and cone-shaped.
Adaptation: Cracking seeds.
Typical food: Seed and nuts.
ROBINS
Beak: Thin and pointed.
Adaptation: Picking insects and worms.
Typical food: Worms and berries.
Blackbirds
Beak: Long and strong.
Adaptation: Digging and pulling worms.
Typical food: Worms and berries.
Blue Tits / Great Tits
Beak: Small and sharp.
Adaptation: Pecks at insects and seeds.
Typical food: Insects, seeds, suet and nuts.
Woodpeckers
Beak: Chisel-like.
Adaptation: Drilling into bark.
Typical food: Insects, larvae and nuts.
Goldfinch
Beak: Very fine and pointed.
Adaptation: Extracting tiny seeds.
Typical food: Thistle and dandelion seeds.
Sparrows
Beak: Short and stout.
Adaptation: Crushing seeds.
Typical food: Seeds and grains.
Thrushes
Beak: Straight and sturdy.
Adaptation: Pulling worms and eating snails.
Typical food: Worms, fruit and snails.
Natural Feeding Behaviours
Thanks to evolution, birds are all set-up to eat in different ways such as:
Ground feeders: Blackbirds, robins and thrushes all prefer to forage in the soil.
Table or feeder birds: Tits, sparrows and finches – all birds that are comfortable perching.
Tree bark feeders: Woodpeckers, nuthatches – great at climbing and hammering on wood.
Air feeders: Swallows and swifts – catch insects in flight.
How to create an attractive environment in your garden for visiting wild birds
Understanding a bird’s feeding preference and behaviour can help you to reconstruct nature in your own garden by putting out a wide variety of food in different ways. Here’s a few handy tips:
✓ Hang feeders full of seed mixes to encourage finches, tits and sparrows.
✓ Scatter mealworms or suet on tables or the ground for robins and blackbirds.
✓ Put peanuts in mesh feeders for woodpeckers and tits.