Chickadee (several species)

• Winter range: Pacific Northwest, Northeast, Southeast
• Food preference: Black oil sunflower and black-striped sunflower seeds, peanut kernels
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Deciduous, mixed forest; suburban areas

White-breasted Nuthatch

• Winter range: All but some Plains states
• Food preference: Black-striped sunflower and black oil sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Deciduous, mixed forests

Blue Jay

• Winter range: Northeast, Midwest
• Food preference: Raw peanuts, sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Oak trees, city parks, suburban yards

Scrub Jay

• Winter range: Pacific Northwest, Southwest
• Food preference: Peanut kernels, black-striped sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated, ground
• Preferred habitat: Scrub oak, woodland, suburban gardens

White-crowned Sparrow

• Winter range: Southeast, Northeast, Pacific Northwest
• Food preference: Black oil and hulled sunflower seed, white and red proso millet, peanut kernels, and niger seed
• Feeder position: Ground
• Preferred habitat: Brush thickets, open woods and gardens.

Pyrrhuloxia

• Winter range: Southwest
• Food preference: Most sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Desert brush and streambeds

Pine Siskin

• Winter range: All regions
• Food preference: Niger, hulled sunflower and black oil sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Coniferous forests, woodlands, brushy pastures

Common Redpoll

• Winter range: Northeast, Midwest, Pacific Northwest
• Food preference: Niger and black oil sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Brushy pasture, open thickets; weed fields

House Finch

• Winter range: Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Midwest
• Food preference: Black oil sunflower and black-striped sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Residential areas, deserts, orchards, coastal valleys

Clark's Nutcracker

• Winter range: Pacific Northwest
• Food preference: Sunflower seeds and suet
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Pine stands, higher elevations

Carolina Wren

• Winter range: Northeast, Midwest
• Food preference: Hulled sunflower seeds, suet, and peanut kernels
• Feeder position: Elevated, ground
• Preferred habitat: Woodland thickets, ravines, brushy slopes

Hummingbird

• Winter range: Deepest Southeast and Southwest
• Food preference: Nectar (sugar and water in 1:4 ratio)
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Forest edges, brush, gardens

Song Sparrow

• Winter range: All regions
• Food preference: White proso millet
• Feeder position: Elevated, ground
• Preferred habitat: Forest edges, clearings, thickets

Northern Cardinal

• Winter range: Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, Midwest
• Food preference: Most sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Woodland edg brushy swamps, and suburban gardens

White-throated Sparrow

• Winter range: Northeast, Southeast
• Food preference: Black oil and black-striped sunflower seeds, white proso millet, and peanut kernels
• Feeder position: Ground
• Preferred habitat: Thickets; suburban areas

Red-breasted Nuthatch

• Winter range: All regions
• Food preference: Black-striped and black oil sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Coniferous forests

Steller's Jay

• Winter range: Pacific Northwest, Southwest
• Food preference: Peanut kernels and sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Elevated, ground
• Preferred habitat: Coniferous forests, pine and oak trees, mixed oak

Downy Woodpecker

• Winter range: All regions
• Food preference: Suet
• Feeder position: Elevated
• Preferred habitat: Deciduous forests

Quail

• Winter range: South
• Food preference: Sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and other small grains
• Feeder position: Ground
• Preferred habitat: Chaparral foothills, desert, suburban areas

Spotted or Eastern (formerly called rufous-sided) and other Towhees

• Winter range: Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Southeast
• Food preference: Proso millet, sunflower seeds
• Feeder position: Ground
• Preferred habitat: Forest edges, thickets, woodlands, shrubby areas

Mourning Dove

• Winter range: All regions
• Food preference: Black oil sunflower seeds, white and red proso millet
• Feeder position: Ground, elevated
• Preferred habitat: Open fields, parks, lawns with trees and shrubs

Dark-eyed Junco

• Winter range: All regions
• Food preference: White proso and red proso millet, cracked corn
• Feeder position: Ground
• Preferred habitat: Fields, road sides, parks, gardens

Dan Hickey is a former managing editor at National Gardening.

Photography by Michael MacCaskey