South Carolina chose the Carolina Wren as its state bird, and it is one of the few states where the official bird is a genuine feeder regular: the wren is at 90.1% of South Carolina feeders, fifth on the list.
First place goes to the Northern Cardinal, at 96.9%.
The twelve birds South Carolina 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 158 participants in South Carolina. The percentage is the share of South Carolina feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of SC feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern Cardinal | 96.9% |
| 2 | Carolina Chickadee | 95.1% |
| 3 | House Finch | 91.4% |
| 4 | Tufted Titmouse | 90.7% |
| 5 | Carolina Wren | 90.1% |
| 6 | Mourning Dove | 85.2% |
| 7 | Blue Jay | 77.8% |
| 8 | Downy Woodpecker | 77.8% |
| 9 | Eastern Bluebird | 75.3% |
| 10 | Yellow-rumped Warbler | 73.5% |
| 11 | Red-bellied Woodpecker | 73.5% |
| 12 | American Goldfinch | 71.0% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
A state bird that earns its place
The Carolina Wren weighs under an ounce and sings a ringing tea-kettle tea-kettle tea-kettle that carries across two gardens. Rusty brown, with a bold white eyebrow and a tail held cocked upright. It takes suet and peanut bits more than seed, and it will nest in almost anything left on a porch.
A small nuthatch found mostly in the Southeast
Brown-headed Nuthatch makes the top 25, at more than half of South Carolina sites. It lives in southern pine woods and is mostly limited to the Southeast — a small, busy bird with a brown cap and a squeaky call like a rubber duck, usually in small family groups.
Bluebirds and warblers in winter
Eastern Bluebird is ninth, at 75% of feeders, and Yellow-rumped Warbler is tenth. Pine Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Eastern Phoebe also make the top 25 — insect-eaters that spend the winter in the South and come to suet, mealworms or birdbaths.
Five birds above 90%
Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, House Finch, Tufted Titmouse and Carolina Wren are all at nine out of ten South Carolina feeders or more. That is the classic southern backyard, and all five stay year-round.
What is on our South Carolina mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of South Carolina mug shows the Northern Cardinal (#1, 97%), the Carolina Chickadee (#2, 95%), the House Finch (#3, 91%) and the Carolina Wren (#5, 90%) — including the state bird. All four are in the South Carolina top five.
The one we would add next is the Tufted Titmouse at #4. 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, chickadee, House Finch, titmouse and jay at once. Suet brings the Carolina Wren, woodpeckers, nuthatches and wintering warblers. Mealworms bring the bluebirds. Millet scattered low brings the doves and Chipping Sparrows.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for South Carolina, 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 →