Why put a potato in the bird feeder?

Potatoes are not a recommended bird feeder food — raw potatoes contain solanine, a compound toxic to most birds, and cooked potatoes offer poor nutritional value compared to seeds, suet, or fruit that backyard birds actually seek out.

The idea occasionally circulates as a folk tip or as a way to use kitchen scraps, but wildlife nutritionists and experienced backyard birders consistently flag starchy, low-fat foods as filler that displaces higher-value options. Birds visiting a PeckCam feeder loaded with black-oil sunflower seeds or suet are getting fat and protein they can metabolize efficiently — a potato provides neither in useful amounts, and the solanine risk in raw form makes it actively harmful to smaller species.

• Raw potatoes contain solanine, a glycoalkaloid toxic to birds and many small animals.
• Cooked, unsalted potato (plain mashed or boiled) is low-toxicity but offers minimal fat or protein for birds.
• Black-oil sunflower seeds attract the widest range of North American backyard species and are the highest-value single food for most feeders.
• Salt in any form — including salted cooked potato — is harmful to birds and should never be placed in a feeder.