Bluebirds don't eat birdseed, right? Wrong! Sometimes they will eat hulled shelled sunflower chips and nut meats (like peanut chips). The bird to the left looks like a Chipping Sparrow - sometimes confused with a House Sparrow.
Cara S of VA caught this male in action. In the other picture, he is offering a kernel to the female. (Photo by Donna of VA.)
About 68% of a bluebird's diet is insects. They find mealworms very attractive. They do have to be trained to come to a feeder. See feeder info (training, DYI plan links, mealworm storage, etc.)
Bluebirds can also be trained to eat suet. See recipes. Peanut chips and sunflower hearts can be mixed in with the suet.
They
also like fruit -
e.g., flowering dogwood, holly, mulberry, wild
grape, Virginia creeper, pokeweed, and Viburnum. (Although
they will eat the fruit of multiflora rose
and Japanese honeysuckle, these are invasive
species, and should be eradicated.)
