These eight birds are the backbone of many backyard lists, and of many Bird-a-Day streaks. Each profile covers what to look and listen for and what brings the bird to a feeder. Details come from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds guide. Ranges vary: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds breed in the East, for example, and the Black-capped Chickadee has a southern look-alike. Check each species' range map on All About Birds for your area.
Northern Cardinal
Look for: a sharp crest on both sexes. Males are brilliant red. Females are warm, red-tinged brown with red accents. Listen for: sweet whistled songs from the males, and a piercing chip note from both sexes that gives away birds hidden in the shrubs. Females sing too, often from the nest.
Habitat and feeders: backyards, undergrowth and dense tangles. Cardinals visit almost any feeder and especially seem to favor sunflower seed. Safflower is a good second choice. Cardinals don't migrate, and in spring they may attack their own reflections in windows. The cardinal is the state bird of seven states.
American Robin
Look for: the warm orange breast, and a bird running across a lawn and pulling up earthworms. Listen for: clear, lilting, musical whistles and low cuck notes.
Habitat and feeders: lawns, yards, parks and towns, as well as mountain forests and Alaskan wilderness. Robins eat more earthworms in the morning and more fruit later in the day, especially in fall and winter. Many spend the winter in their breeding range but roost in trees, so you see them less often in yards. Winter roosts can hold as many as a quarter-million birds.
Black-capped Chickadee
Look for: an oversized round head on a tiny body, with a black cap and bib, white cheeks, a gray back and buffy sides. Listen for: the chickadee-dee-dee call. More dee notes signal a higher threat. You'll often hear chickadees before you see them.
Habitat and feeders: forests and almost any area with trees. They quickly find feeders and take suet, sunflower and peanuts from small hanging feeders and window feeders. Chickadees hide food in many places and can remember thousands of hiding spots. Cornell lists the Carolina Chickadee as a close look-alike, so check range maps for your area.
Blue Jay
Look for: blue, white and black plumage with a black "bridle" across the face and throat that differs between individuals. The blue comes from feather structure scattering light, not from blue pigment. Listen for: noisy calls, including convincing imitations of hawks, especially the Red-shouldered Hawk.
Habitat and feeders: forests, where they nest in trees. Blue Jays prefer peanuts, sunflower seed and suet, and do best at tray or hopper feeders on a post rather than hanging feeders. Acorns are a favorite natural food. The oldest known wild, banded Blue Jay was at least 26 years 11 months old.
Mourning Dove
Look for: a slim, graceful bird with a long, narrow tail and small head, often perched on wires or feeding on the ground. Listen for: a soft, drawn-out, mournful call, and a sharp whistle from the wings on takeoff.
Habitat and feeders: common across the continent in open woodland settings, often gathering on bare ground for seeds and grit. Scatter millet on the ground or on platform feeders. A dove can pack a huge number of seeds into its crop: the record is 17,200 bluegrass seeds in one bird.
American Goldfinch
Look for: breeding males are brilliant yellow with shiny black and a bit of white. Females and winter birds are duller, with wingbars and no streaking. Listen for: a flight call that sounds like po-ta-to-chip.
Habitat and feeders: open woodlands and weedy areas with thistles. Goldfinches eat mostly seeds, especially sunflower and nyjer, and use hanging, hopper and platform feeders. They nest later than most North American birds, waiting until June or July.
Downy Woodpecker
Look for: a small black-and-white woodpecker, barely bigger than a chickadee, foraging acrobatically on small branches and weed stems. Telling it from the larger Hairy Woodpecker is a classic beginner's ID puzzle. Listen for: a high pik and a descending whinny, plus drumming.
Habitat and feeders: woodlots, yards and city parks. Downies love suet and also take black-oil sunflower, millet, peanuts and chunky peanut butter. They sometimes sip from hummingbird and oriole feeders. In winter they join mixed-species flocks.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Look for: a flash of green and red. The tiny legs let it shuffle along a perch but not walk or hop. Notable: it beats its wings about 53 times a second, and it is the only hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America.
Habitat and feeders: open woodland, edges and flowering gardens, including suburbs. Use the 1:4 sugar-water recipe with no food coloring, and change it often in hot weather. See our hummingbird feeder guide. Males may begin migrating by early August. Our feeder timing guide shows when to hang feeders and when to take them down.
Next steps
- Learn the four keys to bird identification so you can sort new birds quickly.
- Put out the right food for each species.
- Offer a nest box sized for chickadees or wrens. See our birdhouse dimensions table.
Sources
- Northern Cardinal — All About Birds
- American Robin — All About Birds
- Black-capped Chickadee — All About Birds
- Blue Jay — All About Birds
- Mourning Dove — All About Birds
- American Goldfinch — All About Birds
- Downy Woodpecker — All About Birds
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird — All About Birds
- Feeding Birds: A Quick Guide to Seed Types — All About Birds