What Do Painted Buntings Eat? (Complete Guide)

Painted bunting (Passeriformes Passeriformes) are probably the most colorful birds in America, and are always a welcome sight. These flamboyant members of the Cardinalidae family occur in two distinct migratory populations across the United States—one along the southeastern coast from Florida to North Carolina, and the other centered around Texas.

So what do buntings eat, and are they attracted to bird feeders?

Painted buntings use their strong, conical beaks to hunt the seeds of many grasses, weeds, and other plants. However, they switch their diets to protein-rich insects and other invertebrates at certain times of the year.

Painted buntings regularly visit the bird feeding station. However, they are shy and show a marked preference for certain smaller seeds. Males steal the show with their bright colors and can be very aggressive towards other males in the breeding area.

These birds are not territorial in winter because they often forage with other birds such as blue buntings.

Read on to learn about the bunting diet. A delicate American southern songbird.

Bunting feeding on millet spray seeds

diet

What is the bunting’s favorite food?

Painted buntings use two different food sources at different times of the year. They are typical seed eaters, although they primarily eat insects in spring and early summer.

What seeds do buntings eat?

Painted buntings eat the seeds of weeds, weeds, trees and other plants. They also feed on the seeds of some crops, such as wheat, and enjoy millet, niger, and other small bird seeds at feeding stations.

Bunting eats the following seeds:

• bristle grass
• millet
• quinoa
• Amaranthus
• sorrel
• sedge
• Euphorbia
• wheat
• St. John’s Wort
• pier
• pine

A pair of male painted buntings feeding on seeds

What insects do buntings eat?

Painted buntings switch to feeding on insects and other invertebrates during the breeding season. During the warmer months of spring and early summer, adults and young alike take advantage of the abundance of protein-rich bugs.

Painted buntings feed on the following invertebrates:

• beetle
• grasshopper
• Caterpillar
• snails
• spider
• cricket
• wasp
• fly
• weevil

What fruit do buntings eat?

Painted buntings will occasionally eat fruit and berries, although these are not typical food sources. They were more likely to eat the seeds of fruits such as figs.

Read on to learn how and when buntings find food.

bunting for feeding on insects

foraging behavior

How often do buntings eat?

The bunting eats every day. In favorable weather conditions, bird watchers can see them foraging throughout the day.

Do buntings go to feeders?

Despite their bright colors, buntings are generally shy and reclusive birds. Once spotted, they will visit the feeder regularly and develop the habit in time. Zoning studies show that the same people may return to the same backyard year after year, so your patience and persistence can really pay off.

Best feeder for buntings?

Bunting is a natural ground feeder, so a platform feeder is the best choice. Cage feeders are also a good option, as they allow buntings to eat without competition from larger, more aggressive birds.

Painted buntings, however, will feed from a variety of bird feeders that contain seeds from smaller birds. Tube feeders with perches and nyjer seed finch feeders are also good options.

What time of the day do buntings feed?

Painted buntings are strictly diurnal birds. They are active throughout the day.

female bunting visit bird feeder

How do buntings find food?

Painted buntings spend most of the winter foraging on the ground. They hop around and often stop to search for seeds on the floor. These industrious birds also grab the stalks of seeding grasses and pull the seed heads to the ground within their reach.

When painted buntings migrated into their breeding range, their diet changed dramatically. So how do they find food in the spring?

During the warmer months, buntings prowl for invertebrates. They do not limit their search to the ground, but will forage in trees up to thirty feet (10 m). They have even been known to steal spiders and their prey from their webs.

What do colorful buntings eat in winter?

Bunting focuses on seeds and other plant material in winter.

What do buntings eat in summer?

Painted buntings turn to insects and other invertebrates in spring and early summer.

What do colorful bunting babies eat?

Female buntings feed their chicks a diet of insects. Grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles and their larvae are common prey.

Read on to learn how to attract and feed painted buntings on your property.

Bunting feeding among the leaves

Feeding and Attracting Bunting

Can I feed buntings?

It’s perfectly fine to feed wild buntings as long as you maintain hygienic conditions and provide only fresh, healthy food. These birds are in decline, and monitoring backyard bird populations helps scientists track their numbers and movements.

However, backyard bird feeding stations can become a source of disease for birds if they are not cleaned regularly. Large numbers of birds roosting and eradicating in the same neighborhood can become hotspots for diseases such as salmonellosis and aspergillosis.

Keep your backyard birds happy and healthy by regularly sweeping or vacuuming up old food and sanitizing feeders.

What can I feed my bunting?

Colored buntings showed a strong preference for white millet. The small, round seeds are common in bird mixes. It should not be confused with the larger red millet or milo seeds which these birds do not seem to like very much.

These birds are happy to feed on mixed wild bird seeds, but if you want to especially attract buntings, a bag of white millet seeds is the way to go.

Colorful buntings show a strong preference for white millet

What can’t feed buntings?

Do not feed your bunting any stale or moldy seeds. Store your bird food in a dry, airtight container out of direct sunlight to keep it fresher for longer.

What do buntings drink?

Colored buntings drink fresh water. They are often attracted to shallow water sources like birdbaths.

How do you attract bunting?

Birders can attract bunting to their backyard by providing food, water, and natural foraging and nesting habitat. They prefer dense, low growing native grass and shrub vegetation for foraging.

Painted buntings may also visit freshwater sources and bird feeders in yards with their favorite habitats with their favorite seeds. Just be sure to keep your birdbaths and bird feeders in a safe place so the bunting can stay out of window crashes and hungry cats.

Is painted bunting suitable for raising?

Bunting are wonderful songbirds. Unfortunately, these brightly colored birds are dwindling due to habit loss and trapping, so having them visit your backyard is a real privilege.

Males are very territorial during the breeding season and can be very aggressive towards other males, but this is all part of their natural behaviour.

Close up view of front painted bunting of bird species enjoying from backyard feeder

common problem

Do buntings eat mealworms?

Painted buntings may prefer mealworms when they switch to insect feeding during the breeding season. Mealworms also attract other popular visitors, such as eastern bluebirds.

Do buntings eat nyjer seeds?

Painted Bunting will feed on Nyjer Seeds when available. Nyjer/thistle seeds are also a great choice for other brightly colored birds like the American Goldfinch.

Do buntings eat sunflower seeds?

Painted buntings will eat sunflower seeds, although this is not their preferred food source. Smaller bird species like the white millet are favored.