What Color Bird Feeder Attracts The Most Visitors?

Knowing how to attract birds into your garden is one of the most important things to learn if you're wanting your backyard to thrive. And in order to attract a variety of birds to your yard and encourage them to keep coming back, you're going to need to offer food in a bird feeder. Without a bird feeder, birds are likely to quickly flee your garden to go and find a better option elsewhere. But, what color should your bird feeder be to have the best chance at attracting the most birds, and does it actually matter? The short answer is, yes, color can make a difference. When choosing a bird feeder, opt for one that has a natural color, such as a muted green, a brown, or a gray.

Why these colors work best is because they effectively blend into their surroundings. Whether you have your feeder hanging on a tree or on a stand surrounded by bushes, the natural, muted tones will allow the bird to feel safe and more confident to come into your garden area and eat. There are, of course, some exceptions, i.e., certain colors that are associated with specific birds, like orange or red for hummingbirds.

As Audubon notes, hummingbirds being drawn to the color red appears to be a learned preference rather than one that the birds are born with. Still, red hummingbird feeders are common. So, given this, in certain instances, if you're hoping to attract a particular bird (like a hummingbird), you may choose a different color than a green, brown, or gray bird feeder.

Other birds that are associated with certain colors include orange for orioles, and yellow for the goldfinch and cardinal. In fact, according to the University of Illinois Extension, birds gravitate toward colors that match their feathers. While this applies to flowers, the same reasoning could be used for bird feeders. If so, then a blue bird feeder would be good in attracting bluebirds and blue jays. And a yellow bird feeder would also work for warblers, just like goldfinches.

On that note, however, in the paper "Colour preferences of UK garden birds at supplementary seed feeders," published in PLoS One, researchers found that goldfinches actually prefer green, so that might be something you try as well. Green, brown, gray, and even tan are colors likely to attract a larger variety of birds, as none zero in on one particular type.

Bringing a variety of birds to your yard isn't just for backyard birdwatching, though. All birds are a pleasure to observe and listen to, but they also play a vital role in a garden's eco-system. They aid in pollination by helping to transport the pollen from one plant to another (called ornithophily), and they are fantastic at inadvertently distributing seeds. Not only this, but many birds can provide pest control as they exterminate mosquitoes, caterpillars, and slugs! (Check out more budget-friendly DIYs to attract more birds.)