AboutRoger Lederer Expertise Any and all about wild birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.
Experience Have a PhD and thirty eight years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, two bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 80 countries watching birds.
Question I have heard from a couple of different sources, two separate explanations on nyjer seeds. My bird feeder has lots of nyjer seeds below it and I was told by several people that they were not nyjer seeds but the shells of the seeds. Recently I was in a very beautiful antique garden and bird feeder shop in Maine and the person selling the bird feeders informed me that my bird feeder holes were too large because nyjer seed does not have shells. Can you please tell me which is right - are there shells or not on nyjer seeds? Thank you.
Answer All seeds have shells or coverings of one sort or another. Nyjer seeds are actually a small version of a sunflower seed to which they are related. Yes, they have shells. Now, I suppose nyjer seeds could be sold unshelled - lots of seeds are (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, etc), but I'm not aware of any unshelled seeds that are used for birdseed. If your birdfeeder had nyjer shells below it, that means the birds ate the seeds and left the shells (they don't eat the shells). But also, nyjer seeds are small and they do fall through some kinds of bird feeders. Typically you will find both shells and unshelled seeds under a feeder because birds are sloppy eaters.
