Parts of a Hummingbird Feeder

All 10 parts on the diagram

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Bottle feeder 5

Hanging hook It hooks over a branch, a bracket or a pole.
Bottle (reservoir) Nectar flows down from it into the base as the birds drink.
Base On a saucer feeder it is the dish that holds the nectar.
Flowers Their color helps draw hummingbirds. They come off so you can scrub inside them.
Bee guards A hummingbird's long tongue and bill reach through; a bee cannot.

Saucer feeder 3

Ant moat It sits between the hook and the nectar. So ants walking down never reach the ports.
Feeding ports On a saucer feeder they are on top, above the nectar.
Perch Hummingbirds feed with one or without.

Seed feeder 2

Tube A hollow tube with ports and perches. A tube feeder is for seed-eating birds.
Baffle It goes above a hanging feeder. It goes below one that stands on a pole.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where two sources use it: a state extension wildlife guide (Penn State Extension, Attracting Hummingbirds, https://extension.psu.edu/attracting-hummingbirds: bottle, flowers, bee guards), the Cornell Lab's Project FeederWatch (https://feederwatch.org/learn/feeding-birds/: tube feeder, feeding ports, perches, baffle), Wikipedia, Bird feeder (text only: reservoir, base, feeding ports, perch, saucer and tube feeders, baffle), and the feeder guides and parts lists of three feeder makers and sellers (reservoir, base, flower ports, bee guards, ant moat, perch, hook). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's feeder, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Two kinds of hummingbird feeder, then a seed feeder. In a bottle feeder the nectar flows into the base; in a saucer feeder it sits in a dish under the ports. The third is a tube feeder for seed-eating birds.

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Bottle, saucer, tube

Numbers 1 to 5 are the bottle feeder: the hanging hook, the upturned bottle, the base, and the flowers with their bee guards. Numbers 6 to 8 are the saucer feeder: the ant moat round the hanging rod, the feeding ports on top, and the perch ring. Numbers 9 and 10 are on the seed feeder: the clear tube and the dome baffle above it.

Fill the ant moat with plain water: ants walking down from the hook cannot cross it.
Take the feeder apart to clean it, and scrub inside the flowers and ports with a small brush.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a hummingbird feeder?

A bottle or reservoir for the nectar, a base, and feeding ports, often shaped like flowers. Many feeders add bee guards over the ports, an ant moat, a perch, and a hook to hang it by.

What is an ant moat on a hummingbird feeder?

A small cup or well above the nectar that you fill with water. Ants coming down from the hook cannot cross the water, so they never reach the feeding ports. Some feeders have one built in; it is also sold as a separate cup.

What do bee guards do on a hummingbird feeder?

A bee guard is a small screen over a feeding port. A hummingbird's long bill and tongue reach the nectar through it, but bees and other flying insects cannot. Guards help most when the feeder is kept clean.

What are the parts of a bird feeder called?

A seed tube feeder has a hollow tube for the seed, feeding ports, and a perch at each port, with a cap on top and a base below. A dome-shaped baffle above it keeps squirrels off.