With their colorful plumage and their playful antics, Finches are a joy to have at the feeding station. Finches prefer black oil sunflower seeds, nyjer seeds, safflower seeds, suet, insects, fruit, and nectar sometimes. However, black oil sunflower seeds, nyjer seeds seem to be their favorites.
In addition to what they like to eat, birds have different feeding styles. There are basically three styles: clingers, perchers, and scratchers. Finches are clingers. Consequently, finch feeders are usually either tubular feeders or a mesh bags that hang from a supportive structure. Whereas one kind of tubular feeder comes with small perches, the other type has a metal wire that spirals down the length of the tube. Some tubular-shaped feeders even come with different compartments so different kinds of seed can be served. Last but not least, when you hang your finch feeder, it should be approximately 10 feet off the ground near some type of cover the birds can seek protection if a predator bothers them.
As an interesting side note, the color of Finches plummage can be affected by what they eat. When finches were kept in captivity, researchers found three different cartenoid pigments in their food influenced the color of their plummage. These chemicals were beta-carotene, isocryptoxanthin, and echinenone. If they ate a diet high in beta carotene, their plumage may be a yellow to orange color, whereas if they eat a diet high in echinenone, their plumage was more red. In addition to pigments, a finches’ coloration can also be affected by parasites. Furthermore, the plummage of male house finches that were infected with a parasite or mites prior to molt were less intense in color.