What Do Cardinals Eat? The Definitive Feeding Guide

Cardinals eat black-oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds above everything else, plus peanuts, cracked corn, berries, and insects in summer. If you fill a feeder with black-oil sunflower and give cardinals room to perch, you've done 90% of the job.

This is the anchor guide for our species-by-species feeding series — bookmark it, then branch out to the birds you want next.

The cardinal's favorite foods

Northern cardinals have a thick, cone-shaped bill built to crack seeds. That shapes what they'll happily eat.

• Black-oil sunflower seed — the top pick, easy to open and calorie-dense.
• Safflower seed — a cardinal favorite that many squirrels, starlings, and grackles avoid.
• Peanuts — shelled peanut pieces are a rich, welcome treat.
• Cracked corn — cheap filler cardinals will take, especially on the ground.
• Sunflower hearts/chips — no shells, no mess, and cardinals love them.
• Berries and fruit — dogwood, mulberry, sumac, and grapes, mostly fall and winter.
• Insects — beetles, crickets, caterpillars, and cicadas, heavily in spring and summer.

Cardinal food chart by season

Food	Why cardinals eat it	Best season
Black-oil sunflower	Thin shell, high fat, easy to crack	Year-round
Safflower	Loved by cardinals, ignored by many pests	Year-round
Peanuts (shelled)	Rich protein and fat	Fall, winter
Cracked corn	Cheap energy, eaten on the ground	Winter
Berries and fruit	Natural sugars and moisture	Fall, winter
Insects	Protein for adults and nestlings	Spring, summer

The best seed to start with

If you buy one bag, make it black-oil sunflower. It draws the widest crowd and cardinals are near the front of the line. The Wagner's Black Oil Sunflower Seed is a straightforward, well-reviewed option to anchor your feeder.

Want fewer squirrels and grackles muscling in? Add safflower as a second feeder. Cardinals cross over to it readily while many pests turn up their noses.

What feeder do cardinals prefer?

Cardinals are relatively large and need a stable place to perch. Feeder choice matters as much as seed choice.

Feeders they'll settle into:

• Hopper feeders — a wide, sheltered ledge cardinals love.
• Platform/tray feeders — open and roomy, ideal for a heavy-bodied bird.
• Ground feeding — cardinals naturally forage on the ground, so a little scattered seed below the feeder works well.

Feeders they'll give up on:

• Small clinging feeders — tiny perches and finch-sized ports frustrate them.

Feeding cardinals through the year

Winter and spring: seed does the work

Keep sunflower and safflower stocked through winter; cardinals rely on feeders most when natural food is scarce. In spring, continue seed, but expect adults to start hunting insects as they pair up and nest.

Summer and fall: insects, then fattening up

Insects and fruit rise in importance in summer, so you may see slightly fewer feeder visits — that's normal. Come fall, cardinals fatten up, which makes it a great time to offer peanuts and berries alongside seed.

Keep water available too. A shallow bird bath is a strong draw and keeps cardinals returning even between meals.

Foods to skip

A few things do more harm than good, so leave them out of the feeder:

• Bread and crackers — filler with little nutrition; can mold fast.
• Salted or roasted nuts — salt is bad for birds; always offer plain, raw nuts.
• Cheap 'wild bird' filler blends — heavy on milo and red millet that cardinals kick aside, leaving waste and mess.
• Anything moldy or spoiled — damp seed grows toxins; empty and clean feeders regularly.

A cleaner, higher-quality offering means less waste under the feeder and healthier birds returning to it.

Quick answer for beginners

Start with black-oil sunflower in a hopper or tray feeder, add safflower if pests are a problem, and toss a little seed on the ground. Keep the feeder clean and the water fresh. Do that and a pair of cardinals will likely become daily regulars, often bringing streaky brown juveniles along in late summer.