# Bird Food for Cardinals
With their bright red feathers, cardinals are among the most popular backyard songbirds in North America. They are quite adaptable and are found in forests, orchards, farmsteads and urban backyards. About 70 percent of their diet is fruits and seeds, making cardinals an easy species to attract to your feeder.
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Seeds, Fruits and Berries
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Cardinals prefer sunflower seeds. To discourage blue jays, grackles and sparrows while simultaneously encouraging cardinals and mourning doves, try safflower seeds. Plant shrubs and trees such as mulberry, sumac, hackberries and wild grapes to attract cardinals to your yard.
Insects
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Cardinals will eat mealworms in a small tray, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. A baby cardinal's diet is almost exclusively insects.
Presentation
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It is difficult for cardinals to feed from traditional bird feeders with perches. Place your birdseed in a tray feeder or scatter seeds directly on the ground to make it easier for the cardinals to eat.
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Next:
Lawn Basics
- Saw Palmetto Seeds for Planting
- How to Care for Strawberry Seeds
- What Is in Bird Food?
- The Feeding Height of a Bird Feeder for a Cardinal
- Cheesecloth for Sunflower Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds for Oil
- Seeds for Fall Planting
- Grass Seeds for Shade
- Planting Zones for Grass Seeds
- Bird Food Fruit
- Plant Food for Grapes
- Germination for Oregano
