Diet
What do cardinals eat?
Mostly seeds and fruit, with insects fed heavily to nestlings in spring and summer.
Spring and summer diet
- Beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers and cicadas
- Wild grape, dogwood and blackberry fruit
Fall and winter diet
- Weed and grass seeds
- Sumac, hackberry and other persistent winter fruit
- Sunflower and safflower at feeders
Best feeder foods
- Black-oil sunflower
- Safflower
- Hulled sunflower chips
- Cracked corn (sparingly)
Cardinals feed most actively at dawn and dusk and rarely use small-perch tube feeders. Place feeders within 10–15 ft of dense shrub cover they can retreat to.
Where cardinals need winter food
Regions where cardinals are present in the cold months:
AlabamaArizonaArkansasConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriNebraskaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNova ScotiaOhioOklahomaOntarioPennsylvaniaQuebecRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsin
Frequently asked
What do cardinals eat?
Mostly seeds and fruit, with insects fed heavily to nestlings in spring and summer.
What is the best food to feed cardinals?
Black-oil sunflower, Safflower, Hulled sunflower chips, Cracked corn (sparingly).
What do cardinals eat in winter?
Weed and grass seeds; Sumac, hackberry and other persistent winter fruit; Sunflower and safflower at feeders.
Sources
- Northern Cardinal — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Northern Cardinal life history — Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Northern Cardinal — Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.