What Foods Do Northern Mockingbirds Eat?

Courtesy Amy Gordon

Northern mockingbirds may not be the flashiest birds in your backyard, but they’re some of the most talkative. Learn more about what mockingbirds eat and how you can attract them to your backyard, if they aren’t there already!

What Do Mockingbirds Eat?

Courtesy Rick Cafiero

Northern mockingbirds are big berry fans. Attract them with ornamental berry bushes like elderberry, blackberry, juniper  and pokeweed. As omnivores, northern mockingbirds eat insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars and beetles in summer, and rely on berries in winter. Although it’s uncommon for northern mockingbirds to stop by seed feeders, you may entice them to your yard with a suet feeder or with sliced fruit like oranges and apples.

Do Mockingbirds Visit Bird Feeders?

Johann Schumacher Design

“Is it normal for a northern mockingbird to regularly visit suet feeders?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Thomas Faust of Brooklyn, New York. Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly say, “Northern mockingbirds are not typically feeder birds. Their usual diet is insects as well as small fruits, so standard feeder items such as seeds and suet won’t attract them most of the time. But they are flexible and adaptable in their behavior. After watching birds stop by for suet, a mockingbird may investigate and discover that it’s a good food source. From then on, that individual may become a regular customer, even as other mockingbirds may ignore the feeder.”

Backyard Tips for Attracting Northern Mockingbirds

Courtesy Doreen Damm

“To attract mockingbirds, I purchase unsalted roasted peanuts and chop them very fine in my food processor. As soon as a mockingbird sees the peanuts on the feeding logs, it swoops in. This particular mockingbird (above) didn’t even mind me sitting a few feet away, taking photos,” says Doreen Damn of New Port Richey, Florida

Courtesy Kathy Diamontopoulos / Country magazine

“We don’t have to work too hard to get mockingbirds in our yard. They are everywhere! They’ve never taken to our feeders, but they do like our berry bushes: blueberry, dogwood, raspberry, pyracantha, etc. Whatever berries are in season, the mockingbirds are first in line at the buffet!” says Arlene Tencza of Waxhaw, North Carolina

Next, learn how to identify and attract a gray catbird.