Have you ever noticed that many hummingbird feeders are bright red? Have you ever wondered why? Well, science suggests that the bright color attracts hummingbirds, which is probably why nectar feeders have long been dyed red. Although the little birds have a penchant for red, it’s less clear whether their feed needs to be colored this way to attract their attention, so we consulted Dr. Christopher J. Clark of the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at the University of California Riverside.

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It makes sense that the color would be added to the nectar of feeders. After all, birds are attracted to red as an indicator of food. “Many flowers pollinated by hummingbirds, such as sage, fuchsia or ipomopsis, are red,” Clark said. “Hummingbirds learn to associate red with food. Since hummingbirds are always looking for new food sources, they examine red objects to determine if they are flowers.”

In an exclusive interview with House Digest, the ornithologist explained that the red dye carmine is not necessarily harmful to hummingbirds. However, “there’s no real research to my knowledge on whether or not carmine is safe for hummingbirds,” he added. Even without research to fully back this up, Clark still says he wouldn’t add dye to the nectar of feeders because it’s simply not necessary.

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Although research has not identified carmine as a dangerous substance for hummingbirds, ornithologist Dr. Christopher J. Clark still does not recommend using it in feeders. This is mainly because the birds do not care about the color of the nectar. “There are no flowers that have red nectar,” he explained in an exclusive interview with House Digest. “Hummingbirds do not look at the color of the nectar they are drinking when they decide whether to drink. They look at the petals of the flower; that is the plastic or glass part of your hummingbird feeder. It is not known whether any red additive is bad for the birds, but it is absolutely not necessary for the nectar to be red.”

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For those who make their own hummingbird nectar instead of buying it, Clark said there is no benefit to coloring the liquid red. All you need is tap water and refined white sugar, he explained. That’s because the birds get those nutrients from real flower nectar, Clark added. “They get their nutrients (protein, etc.) from insects, not nectar,” the ornithologist said. “So there is absolutely no benefit to adding carmine or anything else red to the nectar.”

It’s easy to make your own hummingbird nectar. If you make a batch at once, you can even store the leftover safely until you need it. Backyard bird lovers should avoid stocking up on store-bought nectar for their feeders. Ornithologist Dr. Christopher J. Clark explains that the stuff you can buy at the store is a rip-off compared to homemade nectar. Plus, the store-bought product contains extra ingredients that the birds don’t need.

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“The nectar sold in hardware stores and similar shops is a scam, it’s just expensive sugar water,” Clark said in an exclusive interview with House Digest. “Sometimes they are labelled with other ingredients (like fragrances). These other additives are just a trick to get you to buy expensive sugar water. The active ingredient in nectar is sucrose (table sugar), which you can buy in a bag (£5) at the supermarket for much cheaper than the ‘nectar’ sold in the hardware store.”

Clark then went on to explain the easiest recipe for making your own hummingbird feeder. You’ll need four parts tap water and one part white sugar. Then heat the water until all the sugar has dissolved. Once it’s cooled, you can fill your feeder – just don’t forget to clean the hummingbird feeder thoroughly first.

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