If you have ever spent time watching birds fly around in your garden, you may have wondered: do birds see colour in the same way humans do? The short answer: yes, birds can see colour, but in a very different way to how we do.

This blog will take a closer look at how birds see colour and how this affects their behaviour. Let’s dive in!

How Do Birds See Colour?

Birds have an additional cone in their eyes that allows them to perceive a wider ranger of colours than we can as humans. While we humans have three colour receptors (or cones) in our eye that allow us to see red, green and blue, birds have four colour receptors, allowing them to see ultraviolet (UV) light in addition to the three colours we can perceive.

This allows birds to see contrasts in colours and shades that are invisible to us. For example, around 15 years ago, Finnish researchers discovered that vole urine reflects UV light which kestrels flying over open fields can plainly see. As voles run through grassy fields, they use squirts of urine to mark their trails, the kestrels can then follow these trails directly to their pray.

How Does Colour Impact Bird Behaviour?

Birds’ ability to see a wide range of colours and ultraviolet light influences a range of their behaviours, from mate selection to foraging to territory defence.

Mate Selection

Many birds’ feathers reflect UV light, which can serve as a signal in mate selection. Bright colours often indicate health and genetic fitness and thus birds that are less fit or in poor condition will have a duller plumage. For example, some parrots and finches have UV patterns that are only visible to other birds and females are drawn to these bright patterns and colours as they signal good health and strength for breeding.

Territory Defence

Bright coloured plumage can be used to signal aggression and territoriality for some male birds. They can flash their bright colours to intimidate rivals and establish dominance over a particular area, warning other males to stay away.

Foraging for Food

Birds also use their ability to see UV light to identify food sources. Many insects, fruits and flowers have ultraviolet reflections that make them more visible to birds. In fact, many seeds and fruits develop a reflective waxy coating as they open, signalling to birds that they are ripe and ready to eat.

Certain bird species are also attracted to specific colours. For example, hummingbirds are drawn to red and goldfinches are attracted to yellow, which is why many goldfinch feeders are yellow – like our Goldfinch Taster Feeder!

So, if you’re looking to attract more birds to your garden, consider looking for bird seed mixes that contain sunflower seeds and safflower seeds as both of these are known to reflect UV light.

Browse Bird Seed Mixes              Browse Straight Seeds

Feeding birds is a fantastic way to connect with nature, improve your mental health and boost your local ecosystem. However, as anyone who regularly feeds the birds knows, stocking up on bird seed and supplies (particularly if you have lots of garden visitors with lots of feeders out) can be expensive. At Really Wild Bird Food, we’re here to tell you that you don’t have the break the bank to feed your feathered friends!

This blog will detail some simple and cost-effective ways you can feed the birds for less. Let’s get started…

Buy in Bulk

One of the best ways to save money on feeding the birds is to buy your bird food in bulk. Smaller bags of seed tend to cost more per kg, while larger bags (20, 30 or 40kg) work out much cheaper  on a £/kg price basis.

Bags of birdseed that weigh less than 12.5kg are subject to VAT, therefore this immediately increases to price to the customer by 20%. If you can buy large sacks (weighing more than 12.5kg) then you immediately are making the VAT saving. Obviously buying in bulk will mean that you will have to find space to store your bulk purchase. We recommend putting your bird food in a vermin proof container – like a metal dustbin – and in a cool environment. Avoid storing your seed near a boiler or hot cupboard.

If you can store it in a cool place, your bird food should last for 5-6 months!

If you are looking to buy a large number or bird food sacks, it might make financial sense to have them delivered on a pallet. If you have neighbours who also order bird food, why not put a combined order in with them?

Attract Natural Food Sources

Another sustainable way to feed the birds for less is to plant native plants that produce natural food sources. Native trees, shrubs and flowers produce seeds, fruits and nectar that many bird species love to snack on. For example, sunflowers produce tasty sunflower seeds and holly bushes produce berries. This will not only provide natural food but also create habitat and cover for your garden birds.

Feed in the Right Location

By placing your bird feeders in the right spots, you can reduce seed waste and attract more birds. Try to hang your feeders in sheltered spots to protect the seed from rain and wind – this will prevent your seed from getting spoiled. Also, try to place feeders near natural cover, like trees or shrubs, so that birds can quickly seek shelter if predators approach.  

Keep It Fresh

To help prevent excessive waste and weather damage to seed in feeders, only fill feeders with enough seed to last a couple of days, particularly in the winter months when seed is more likely to become damp. Keeping seed and peanuts in tip top condition will be tastier for birds and will reduce the amount you have to throw away.

Choose Low-Cost High-Quality Seed Mixes

At Really Wild Bird Food, we understand that times are tight, and as the cost of living continues to rise, many people can’t afford to spend a lot of money feeding their local birds. That’s why we have created our very own Birdie Basics range, so that you can feed the birds for less this summer!

Just like our premium seed mixes, our range of Birdie Basics seed mixes are packed with home-grown ingredients from our UK farm, so even with the lower price tag, the quality will be far better than any cheap bird seed mixes you can find online.

While the low cost of cheaper seed may initially seem like good value for money, keep an eye on how much is being wasted. Buying more expensive seed that has little of no-waste will, in the long-run, be much better value.

Our Birdie Basics range consists of three low-cost bird seed mixes:

Birdie Basics Bronze contains wheat, red millet, white millet, black sunflower seeds, rape, cut maize and naked oats.

Birdie Basics Silver contains wheat, red millet, white millet, black sunflower seeds, rape, cut maize, naked oats and canary seed.

Birdie Basics Gold is wheat-free and contains  red millet, white millet, black sunflower seeds, rape, cut maize, naked oats and barley.

We hope that these low-cost bird seed mixes will enable you to keep feeding your local birds while saving a little bit of cash!

If you have any questions about our Birdie Basics range or how to feed your birds for less, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us using the button below.

Contact Us                      Shop Birdie Basics

Look after your feeding station by cleaning regularly and refilling it daily. Read on for more useful bird feeder maintenance tips!

What’s a Bird Feeding Station?

A bird feeding station is a device that lets you hang multiple bird feeders in one place. Most bird feeding stations look a bit like a coat rack, with many arms for hanging feeders, though some feeding stations can also support feeding trays at the same time. You can build your own with a sturdy pole or buy ready-made bird feeding stations for your garden.

Whether you’ve got a full feeding station with a plethora of feeders, or just a single feeder on a branch, proper cleaning and maintenance is crucial.