Another group of backyard birds are those that perch in shrubs, weeds and trees to feed, e.g., finch, chickadees and titmice. The tube birdfeeder was developed to replicate the natural feeding environment of these birds. That is, the tube represents the trunk of the tree, the perches substitute for the branches and the opening in the feeder represents the seed pod.

It’s important to understand that there are two types of tube birdfeeders, i.e., “round port” and “nyjer” (thistle). The round port birdfeeder has round holes for feeding and are used by most perching birds.

Since birds find only one type of seed in any particular bush or tree, we suggest that you place only one type of seed in this feeder. Good examples are sunflower chips, Safflower and Black Oil Sunflower. Of course, one can argue that birds will feed on birdseed blends offered in tube birdfeeders - and that’s certainly true. However, our belief is that you will attract more wild birds in the long run if you offer a feeding area as close as possible to the natural feeding environment of the bird.

The other tube feeder is primarily for finch. It’s similar to the above tube birdfeeder except that the feeding ports are small slits rather than round holes. Only Nyjer seed is used in this feeder and the small holes are designed to prevent the seed from spilling out.