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Birds can be divided in 4 categories in Michigan. Birds that live here: year-round, during the breeding season and leave in fall, during the nonbreeding in winter and temporarily during migration as they are passing through. This list of birds consists of year-round birds in purple and nonbreeding birds in winter in green.

1. American Goldfinch – is a foliage gleaner that eats seeds almost exclusively. At feeders prefers nyjer and sunflower.

2. American Robin – is a ground forager that eats mainly insects but will also eat invertebrates and fruit. They also seem to enjoy fruit with insects in them. They will eat dried mealworms, suet, berries and sunflower seeds at feeders.

3. American Tree Sparrow – is a ground forager whose primary food is seeds. They will eat seeds (they love small seeds like millet), berries and insects at feeders.

4. Black-capped Chickadee- is an insect eating foliage gleaner that eats half seeds, berries and plant matter and half animal food (insects, spiders, suet and fat & meat from dead frozen animals). They are easily attracted to birdfeeders.

5. Blue Jay – is an omnivore, ground forager that eats insects, nuts, seeds, grains, dead and injured small vertebrates and can be easily attracted to bird feeders.

6. Carolina Wren – is a ground forager that mainly eats insects and spiders, but will also eat seeds, suet, sunflower seeds and mealworms at feeders.

7. Cedar Waxwing – is a fruit eating foliage gleaner that will supplement their diet with insects. They prefer berry-producing plants but can sometimes be attracted with fresh or dried fruit, berries and mealworms to birdfeeders.

8. Dark-Eyed Junco – is a ground forager that primarily eats seeds but will also eat insects during breeding. At feeders they seem to prefer millet over sunflower seeds.

9. Eastern Bluebird – is an insect eating ground forager that mainly eats fruit during the winter. They will eat suet, mealworms and berries at feeders.

10. European Starling – is an insect eating ground forager that will eat nearly anything. But while they prefer insects and other invertebrates, they will also eat fruits, grains, seeds, nectar. They will eat at bird feeders and can be prevented by using feeders with cages or using safflower seeds.

11. Golden-Crowned Kinglet – is an insect eating foliage gleaner, that will eat some seeds in winter. They will sometimes eat mealworms, suet and nyjer at feeders.

12. Hairy Woodpecker – is an insect eating bark forager, that will also eat fruit and seeds. They will eat suet and sunflower seeds at birdfeeders.

13. Redpoll – is a seed eating foliage gleaner that will eat millet and nyjer seed at birdfeeders.

14. Horned Lark – is a seed eating ground forager that will also eat insects. They can be attracted by cracked corn, peanut pieces and black oil sunflowers seeds in birdfeeders.

15. House Finch - is a seed eating ground forager that eats seeds, buds and fruit. They will eat black oil sunflower, millet and milo seeds at birdfeeders.

16. House Sparrow – is an omnivore ground forager, that eats mostly grains and seeds. They love birdfeeders with millet, milo and sunflower seeds.

17. Mourning Dove – is a seed eating ground forager that will eat sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, millet, peanuts and corn at birdfeeders.

18. Northern Cardinal- is a seed eating ground forager that eats mainly seeds and fruit with some insects. Their favorite seed at birdfeeders is black oil sunflower seeds but will also eat many other seeds.

19. Northern Flicker – is an insect eating ground forager that will also eat fruits and seeds in winter. They will eat suet, nuts, seeds, fruit and berries at birdfeeders.

20. Northern Mockingbird- is an omnivore ground forager, that eats mainly insects in summer and mostly fruit in fall and winter. They can be attracted to bird feeders with suet, fruit, mealworms and seeds.

21. Pileated Woodpecker – is an insect eating bark forager that mainly eats insects but will also eat fruits and nuts. They will sometimes visit feeders for seeds or suet.

22. Pine Siskin – is a seed eating foliage gleaner that eats mainly seeds of pines and other conifers but will also eat insects. They will eat at bird feeders and prefer smaller seeds without tough shells like thistle and black oil sunflower. They will also sometimes eat suet.

23. Purple Finch – is a seed eating foliage gleaner that eats mainly seeds, but also eat soft buds, nectar, berries and fruit and sometimes insects. They will eat nyjer, millet or sunflower seeds at birdfeeders.

24. Red-Bellied Woodpecker- is an insect eating bark forager that mainly eats insects but will also eat nuts and seeds and fruits. They will eat suet, peanut and sunflower seeds at birdfeeders.

25. Red-Breasted Nuthatch – is an insect eating bark forager that eats mainly insects in summer and seeds in winter. They enjoy peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet at bird feeders.

26. Red-Headed Woodpecker – is flycatching omnivore that eats insects, fruits and seeds, nuts, corn, suet. They will eat at bird feeders.

27. Rock Pigeon – lives in cities and is a seed eating ground forager. They like eating seeds and fruits at birdfeeders.

28. Song Sparrow – is an insect eating ground forager that eats mainly insects and invertebrates in the summer and seeds and fruits year-round. They will eat a variety of seeds at birdfeeders including sunflower, safflower, millet and nyjer.

29. Swamp Sparrow – is an insect eating ground forager that will also eat seeds, fruits and invertebrates. They will eat at feeders if it is by their wetland habitat

30. Tufted Titmouse – is an insect eating foliage gleaner that eats mainly insects in summer, but will also eat seeds, nuts and berries. They will eat suet, sunflowers seeds, and peanuts at birdfeeders.

31. White-Breasted Nuthatch – is an insect eating bark forager that will also eat seeds, nuts and sometimes corn. They will eat sunflower seeds, peanuts, suet and peanut butter at birdfeeders.

32. White-Throated Sparrow – is a seed eating foliage gleaner that will also eat insects. Will visit bird feeders for millet and black oil sunflower seeds.

33. White-Winged Crossbill – is a seed eating foliage gleaner that will eat insects in summer. They mainly eat seeds from the cones of spruce and tamarack. They will occasionally visit feeders that have a good finch mix, like Finches Feast.

Birds that are ground foragers are going to prefer eating food that is on the ground or bird feeders that are seed trays or platform feeders. Perching birds that are foliage gleaners are going to prefer birds that have perches on them. Bark foragers are going to prefer suet feeders or feeders they can climb on.

 Information from the All About Birds website,www.allaboutbirds.org