Alabama's state bird is the Yellowhammer — the Northern Flicker, a big ground-feeding woodpecker that digs for ants in the lawn. It is a real Alabama bird, but it does not make the state's top 25 feeder birds at all.
The bird that does lead the list is at 96.6% of Alabama feeders: the Northern Cardinal.
The twelve birds Alabama feeders report most
From Project FeederWatch, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's winter count, in which volunteers record what turns up at their own feeders. The 2023–24 season had 86 participants in Alabama — a smaller sample than in bigger states, so treat close numbers as ties rather than rankings. The percentage is the share of Alabama feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of AL feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern Cardinal | 96.6% |
| 2 | House Finch | 92.1% |
| 3 | Carolina Chickadee | 91.0% |
| 4 | Tufted Titmouse | 91.0% |
| 5 | Mourning Dove | 87.6% |
| 6 | Carolina Wren | 87.6% |
| 7 | American Goldfinch | 85.4% |
| 8 | Downy Woodpecker | 80.9% |
| 9 | Northern Mockingbird | 76.4% |
| 10 | Red-bellied Woodpecker | 67.4% |
| 11 | Chipping Sparrow | 65.2% |
| 12 | Dark-eyed Junco | 65.2% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
A cardinal at almost every feeder
96.6% — among the highest cardinal shares in the country. Cardinals do not migrate and hold the same territory year after year, so the pair at your feeder in July is the pair at your feeder in January.
A four-way tie at 65%
Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Eastern Bluebird and Blue Jay all land on exactly 65.17% of Alabama feeders, at ranks 11 to 14. The Blue Jay being that low is unusual — in most eastern states it is a top-ten bird.
Warblers at the feeder in winter
Yellow-rumped Warbler and Pine Warbler both make Alabama's top 25, at more than half of feeder sites. Across most of the country warblers pass through in spring and autumn; the Deep South is where many of them spend the winter. The Pine Warbler in particular will take suet and hulled sunflower.
Your chickadee is a Carolina
Carolina Chickadee ties the Tufted Titmouse for third at 91%. The Black-capped Chickadee does not occur in Alabama; the two look nearly identical, but the Carolina is slightly smaller with a faster, higher call.
What is on our Alabama mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of Alabama mug shows the Northern Cardinal (#1, 97%), the House Finch (#2, 92%), the Carolina Chickadee (#3, 91%) and the Carolina Wren (#6, 88%). All four are in the Alabama top six.
The one we would add next is the Tufted Titmouse, tied for third. It is on the list of designs we still owe this state.
If you want more of them
Black-oil sunflower seed covers the cardinal, House Finch, chickadee and titmouse at once. Suet brings the woodpeckers, the Carolina Wren and the Pine Warbler. Millet scattered low brings the doves, Chipping Sparrows and juncos. Nyjer in a mesh sock holds the goldfinches.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for Alabama, 2023–24 season. These are volunteer reports from their own feeders, not a formal survey, and they describe the winter feeding season rather than the whole year. Percentages are the share of participating sites that reported the species.
See the mugs for the other states → · Identify a bird in three questions →