23 Birds You Don't Want at the Feeder, and How to Send Them On

That short-tailed bird turns the feeder tray into its seat.

Starlings gather in groups and finish suet fast. Their dark feathers show pale spots in winter and a glossy sheen in spring. A tray gives them room to stand while they eat.

Take away the tray and put suet inside an upside-down feeder.

The little brown crowd keeps returning to the same seed.

House sparrows stick close to buildings, so a feeder beside your porch suits them. Look for the male’s gray crown and black bib. They eat readily from trays and mixed-seed feeders, taking up space that finches and chickadees would use.

Skip the cheap seed mix with millet, and offer sunflower hearts in a feeder with small perches. Clean up what falls below it, too. Otherwise, you’ve set a second table on the ground.

That gray bird walks beneath the feeder like it owns the patio.

Pigeons collect the seed that drops from above. A feeder full of preferred seed won’t solve that ground buffet. Watch how much lands near the legs of your chair.

Use a catch tray and sweep spilled seed before evening.

The plump dove settles under the feeder and stays there.

Mourning doves are native birds, and you needn’t treat them as villains. They feed on the ground, including the seed your hanging feeder spills. If that spot is beside a walkway, the droppings soon become the issue. A large platform invites them up.

Move the feeder away from the path and reduce the spillage. Keep a separate ground-feeding spot only if you want one. Your garden has room for choices.

The long-tailed black bird leans across every feeding port.

Grackles have strong bills and take advantage of open trays. In sunlight, a male’s head flashes blue or purple. He’s striking, but he also sends small visitors back to the hedge.

Switch one feeder to a cage-style model that admits small birds.

A red shoulder patch flashes above the scattered seed.

Red-winged blackbirds feed in flocks outside breeding season. Open platforms and grain-heavy mixes hold their attention. Near a pond or marsh, you’re close to their regular territory, so the feeder isn’t their only reason for being there. The females are streaked brown, without the male’s bright shoulder patch.

Replace the grain mix with shelled sunflower in a smaller feeder. Don’t chase the flock; give your finches a place to eat that the larger birds can’t easily occupy.

That brown head sits on a glossy black body.

Cowbirds gather below feeders where seed collects. The females are plain brown and easy to mistake for sparrows. Both will keep visiting if food stays on the ground after the feeder is empty.

Rake up dropped seed and retire the open platform for now.

The blue bird announces itself before it reaches the peanuts.

Blue jays belong here, even when their calls make the whole yard sound occupied. They’re large enough to dominate a narrow feeder and clever enough to work a loose lid. If you like seeing them but want space for smaller birds, separation works better than a feud.

Put peanuts in a feeder away from the finch feeder. Give the smaller birds short perches elsewhere, and keep both stations clean. You’ll see who comes to each.

That black bird stands nearly as tall as the feeder.

A crow reaches food on an open platform or beneath a messy one. It also notices patterns: put out scraps at the same time, and you’ve made a routine. The feeder itself isn’t always the draw.

Stop putting out kitchen scraps, and keep seed off the lawn.

This smaller black crow walks the tray with confidence.

Fish crows live chiefly near the eastern and Gulf coasts. They’re smaller than American crows, but size is hard to judge from a kitchen window. Their nasal call is a better clue. On a wide platform, the distinction doesn’t change the problem: there’s room for a crow.

Remove the platform if your aim is feeding small songbirds. If you enjoy crows, choose a separate spot for them and clean up afterward. You set the boundaries.

A heavy bill and shaggy throat mark this huge visitor.

Ravens aren’t standard backyard-feeder guests everywhere. Where they do visit, an open food source gives them a reason to return. Scraps beside a trash can are part of the invitation. Watch the ground as well as the perch.

Remove food scraps and use a small, enclosed seed feeder.

A narrow black collar circles the pale dove’s neck.

This dove has spread through much of the United States. It favors open ground and roomy platforms, where it can settle in beside spilled seed. Its long, square-tipped tail helps separate it from a mourning dove. Neither bird needs a scare tactic.

Take down the platform if it serves more doves than songbirds. Pick up the seed underneath before refilling. That last step matters: a hanging feeder still feeds ground visitors when it rains seed.

The gray bird flashes white wing patches as it turns.

A mockingbird isn’t after your sunflower seed. It comes for fruit, suet, or the insects drawn to the feeding area. During nesting season, it defends nearby territory fiercely.

Move the fruit or suet station away from your main feeder.

That red bird looks enormous beside a goldfinch.

Cardinals are welcome visitors in plenty of yards. Still, a male planted in a small feeder tray keeps others waiting. Cardinals need a solid place to perch; a tiny tube-feeder perch doesn’t suit them. The brown female, with her red bill and crest, needs the same space.

Give cardinals their own stable feeder with sunflower seed. Place the finch feeder a short distance away. Now you can watch both without asking either bird to share one cramped seat.

An orange breast appears beside the fruit, not the seed.

Robins look for fruit and insects, so a seed feeder holds little interest. A berry-bearing shrub nearby explains the visit better than the sunflower hearts do. If fruit is drawing a crowd onto your patio, you can move it.

Keep fruit away from the main feeding station.

The slate-gray bird slips in for a bite of orange.

A catbird favors fruit and soft food over dry seed. Its black cap is easier to spot when it pauses at the dish. It has a rasping call that gives it its name, and it tends to work the shrubs around a yard. The feeder visit is part of that route.

Move the fruit dish toward a shrub, away from your seed feeder. If droppings are the problem, keep the dish off the patio rail.

A rusty bird kicks leaves beneath the hanging feeder.

Brown thrashers search leaf litter for insects. A scatter of seed brings them into the same patch of ground, especially beside shrubs. They’re not built for clinging to a tube feeder.

Leave their leaf litter alone, but clear the seed beneath your feeder.

That oversized blackbird carries a tail shaped like a folded fan.

Boat-tailed grackles live along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Males shine blue-black; females are brown and smaller. Near coastal marshes, an open platform puts your seed directly in their path. Swapping one grain mix for another won’t change the generous landing space you’ve given them.

Trade the platform for a feeder with short perches. Sweep underneath after filling, so the flock doesn’t move from the tray to the ground.

The male’s long, keeled tail nearly doubles his outline.

Across much of the South and West, great-tailed grackles thrive around people. They take food from open platforms and dropped seed from pavement. That glossy bird doesn’t need a special invitation.

Use a smaller feeder, and leave no seed on the concrete.

A yellow eye fixes on the seed scattered below.

Brewer’s blackbirds walk lawns and parking lots in groups, especially in the West. The male is glossy black; the female is brown with a darker eye. They don’t need to perch to benefit from your feeder. A steady fall of seed keeps them fed beneath it.

Fill the feeder with less seed each time, and clean underneath before adding more. You’re checking whether a smaller serving leaves less for the ground crew.

The greenish bird crowds a feeder well outside its usual range.

In the United States, a greenfinch at a feeder is unusual. Don’t change your whole setup because one unfamiliar bird appears. Look carefully: a yellow stripe runs through its wing, while familiar goldfinches have different markings.

Take a photo, then check it with a local birding group.

A broad bronze back blocks the path beneath the feeder.

Wild turkeys pick up fallen seed, not sunflower hearts from tiny ports. One bird under a feeder is a sight; a group crossing your garden beds and scratching around new plants is another matter. Food left on the ground rewards that route. A full platform gives them a second place to look.

Stop ground feeding and remove spills each day. Keep your distance rather than trying to herd them.

The clean, empty feeder looks odd against a busy yard.

If starlings, grackles, or house sparrows have made your feeder their regular stop, changing seed while they watch the same tray won’t do much. Take the feeder down for several days and remove every spill beneath it. Wash it, then let it dry fully. The birds that came for an easy, predictable meal have to look elsewhere.

When you put it back, change the terms: use a smaller feeder, a different food, or a new position. Watch who arrives before you refill it again. You haven’t banned a bird; you’ve stopped supplying the meal it counted on.