How to Save Money When Buying Cam Drive Feeder

Bird feeding is a fun pastime for both novice and experienced bird lovers, but if you’re not staring at your feeder 24/7, you could be missing out on a lot. And birding might be good for your health.

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Smart bird feeders incorporate the attractive powers of a bird feeder with a wireless camera and a smartphone app that lets you view recordings of the activity in the feeder, so you don’t need to always watch the feeder to enjoy it. The camera can send smartphone alerts when birds come by and record videos or photos of their escapades for viewing later — and some smart feeders can even identify the various species of birds that visit, so they offer an educational component.

These devices aren’t for people who get their bird thrills from walking around in a park with binoculars or those who want a closer look at their backyard friends’ personal lives (for that, you should check out the smart birdhouse we recently reviewed). They may not even be the best-designed feeders for attracting all kinds of birds. But smart feeders are for people who delight in having quirky bird selfies sent to their .

A smart bird feeder requires a strong Wi-Fi connection that can reach outdoors. How far you can place yours from your home depends on your networking equipment and the strength of your wireless signal. You may also consider beefing up that signal with a new router or a mesh network. Just keep in mind that even with the strongest Wi-Fi connection, you probably won’t be able to place the feeder on, say, a tree at the back of your yard. Look for locations that are closer to your home where you have a good Wi-Fi signal; use your smartphone to see where your signal is strong.

Top pick

This bird feeder has a p camera with a wide viewing angle, includes an easy-to-fill seed bin, and offers options for local and cloud video storage.

If you thought the movie The Birds could have used, well, more birds, choose the Netvue Birdfy Feeder. This smart bird feeder brings a flock of activity to your smartphone, delivering more notifications than any other feeder we tested. Each of those alerts includes the visitor’s species, and the camera captures clear audio and crisp p video in a wide-angle view that isn’t distorted. Although the Birdfy Feeder can distinguish birds by name, we found that it could be indecisive, often tagging our videos with a few different bird types. Overall, however, the Birdfy Feeder is great for the budding or expert birder, as it offers an easy-to-fill feeder, all of the essential add-ons in one package, and a lively in-app community.

It can capture a bird’s entire wingspan in one wide, clear frame. The Birdfy Feeder has a built-in p camera with a wide, 135-degree viewing angle. That wider image typically allowed us to see from beak to claw, even when more than one bird was perching. You can tilt the camera forward to angle it toward the action zone, as well. In addition, the camera features color night vision to capture raccoons, mice, bears, and other nocturnal creatures that may also enjoy the buffet you’ve left out.

You can enjoy a murmuration of notifications. Unlike other models we tested, which limit the number of alerts and recordings you get, the Birdfy Feeder delivers smartphone alerts every time the camera sees motion. We liked that, because even if the shot wasn’t clear, we still had a better idea of who or what was coming by: The Birdfy Feeder sends an alert for every single visitor, including other animals, as well as any people and vehicles that come into view (more on that below).

The Birdfy Feeder also labeled the type of bird in the notifications — house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, mourning dove — so we knew whether the visitor was something we wanted to view immediately or whether it was that pesky grackle bullying all of the other birds and driving them away again.

It can also ID other types of motion. Netvue specializes in security cameras, including the one inside the Birdfy Feeder. That’s why this smart bird feeder can also detect and label all types of motion, besides birds and other animals, including people, cars, and package deliveries.

For best results at the bird feeder, go into the camera’s Settings and filter by “Pets, Animals, and Birds.” It will still capture and record video anytime it detects motion, even if the source is a person walking by, but in the app you can filter the activity feed to only “Birds, Squirrels, and other Animals.”

Choose your storage. The Birdfy Feeder can capture 20-second clips, which it stores free for up to 30 days in the cloud. You can increase that recording time to 30 seconds if you subscribe to Birdfy Cloud, which is $2 per month or $20 per year. If you want to hang on to recordings and photos longer, add them to your Collection; Birdfy allows users to store up to 5GB for free.

Should a bird or other creature hang out for a long time, the Birdfy Feeder creates several clips. In our tests, it wasn’t uncommon for us to get five or six clips from one visit (see Flaws but not dealbreakers), but for the most part, birds don’t linger for too long when they’re snatching a snack. And although we prefer the cloud storage, you also have the option to store footage on a microSD card.

It comes with everything you need. For about $200, you get the feeder, the solar panel, three different mounting attachments, and a perch. All of those components are extremely easy to set up, without tools. And we found that feeders with a perch attracted more birds than those without; often, one visitor would be waiting for another to finish chomping down or would just sit and belt out a few notes post-banquet. (That said, birds aren’t so picky. If you were to toss seeds into a wet cardboard box, they would still find it.)

Netvue also sells a Lite version of the Birdfy smart feeder that's under $150 but doesn’t have AI for bird recognition — something that we consider to be an essential part of the package. The AI is worth paying a bit more up front, but if you opt for the less expensive model, you can add on the AI later for $5 per month or by paying a $70 lifetime fee.

The seed reservoir is big and easy to fill. The flip-up roof on the feeder made the Birdfy model one of the easier feeders to fill in our tests, and we didn’t have to do it as often as with our runner-up since this model holds 50% more seed, 1.5 liters total.

The Birdfy Community is for the birders. When birds come to visit, you can save photos and clips to your Collection, as well as share them with the Birdfy Community, which includes endless clips and photos from other owners of Birdfy smart bird feeders. And tapping on the species name takes you to Wikipedia for more information about each bird. Although the birds have an ID, community members remain anonymous, as does their location. You can also filter to view non-bird animals that other Birdfy smart-feeder owners have captured, but a Birdfy spokesperson told us that the tags for such images (which in our experience included “Deer,” “Raccoon,” “Squirrel,” and even at least one “Labrador Retriever”) are added manually by community members.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The AI is a work in progress. We found that the Birdfy Feeder sometimes tagged clips of a single bird with two or even three different bird species. (The Bird Buddy model, our runner-up, did this too, but not as often.) We found that one of the tags was always correct. The app allows you to correct and report when something is mislabeled.

Recordings are too limited. Recorded clips max out at 20 seconds — 30, if you subscribe to the Birdfy Cloud service. If a bird sticks around beyond that and continues munching, a new recording begins, but there’s about a 12-second gap between recordings. That said, birds tend not to hang out long, and 20 to 30 seconds of recording time should be plenty.

It may not do well in extreme cold. Whereas most outdoor cameras can withstand temperatures down to -4 °F, the Birdfy Feeder’s operating temperature range is from 14 °F to 122 °F. The company told us that it hasn’t received any negative feedback about this, saying that many owners report that the feeder continues to work fine in extreme cold. Representatives also said that it isn’t necessary to bring the feeder in during winter months, but prolonged use outside may impact battery life.

The solar panel isn’t pretty. The Birdfy Feeder’s solar panel isn’t part of the actual feeder; it’s a separate piece attached with a cord. You can mount the panel on the feeder, but our runner-up from Bird Buddy, in contrast, integrates the solar panel into a snap-on roof, which results in a nicer, neater package, as well as less for you to mount. However, some people may see the separate solar panel as a benefit, since you can install and angle the panel out of shady spots.

Privacy and security snapshot

• Netvue encrypts video transmission from the camera to the app. Although storage and processing on the cloud are not encrypted, Netvue says the data is secured through the cloud platform.
• Although Netvue does not have a specific clause in its terms, representatives confirmed to us that the company will comply with legally supported requests from courts. Otherwise, audio and video sharing happens only as permitted by the owner.
• Location data is recorded only to enhance the bird-species recognition. It is never shared without user permission.
• User data is not shared outside of Netvue without granted permission.
• Netvue does not offer two-factor authentication, although a username and password are required for using the app.

For more details, read Netvue’s privacy statement.

Runner-up

This bird feeder captures visitors in 2K video, provides fun and interesting trivia about your feathered friends, and has an active in-app community.

For the budding bird lover, the Bird Buddy Pro Smart Bird Feeder with Solar Roof is a pricier option, but it has a sturdier build, allows for longer video clips, and provides more detailed information about feathered friends. The camera has a narrower viewing angle than that of the Birdfy Feeder, it misses a lot of bird encounters, and the feed hopper is smaller. However, Bird Buddy’s social network is an attractive feature, providing a window into feeders from around the world and letting you know exactly what you are watching and where it is.

It spouts more facts than a bird-trivia night. The Bird Buddy smart feeder is about more than just fun bird pics — it offers an educational aspect, too. But unlike a fusty bird book, Bird Buddy has a sense of humor: It gives birds labels such as “brainiacs,” “hoarders,” and “bullies,” and the descriptions more resemble kid-friendly trivia than they do dry ornithology essays. (Fun fact: Grackles allow ants to crawl all over them in an effort to kill parasites!)

Currently, Bird Buddy can identify about 3,000 species of birds using its proprietary database, which relies on AI and individual vetting of new entries by ornithologists.

Image quality is terrific. Bird Buddy Pro has a new 2K resolution camera and options for close-ups with a 115-degree viewing angle or a wide view of 122 degrees. The new camera produces noticeably beautiful colors and sharp detail on feathers. Users with a data cap or unstable connection can opt to record at 720p or p. Bird Buddy Premium ($6 per month or $60 per year) subscribers can bump the quality up to 2K Ultra, which captures videos at 30fps and 5MP photos, but I didn’t see enough of a difference during testing to warrant the upgrade.

If you own the original Bird Buddy, you can choose instead to simply buy the Nature Cam Pro, the new camera module for the Bird Buddy Pro. It snaps into the bird feeder housing, which is the same for both models.

It’s tough but cute. At 9 by 6.3 by 6.89 inches, the Bird Buddy Pro feeder is more compact than the other models we tested. Its solar panel doesn’t take away from its footprint, either, since that component is integrated into a snap-on roof; the piece also makes it look like a typical cute birdhouse, rather than a device with a high-tech (and sometimes bulky) upgrade.

It’s easy to install, but you may need extras. The Bird Buddy feeder comes already assembled; you just need to charge the included camera and pop it into the feeder, and you’re ready to peep. It comes with a metal hanger so you can hang it from a tree or deck, as well as an adapter for pole mounting (you supply the pole). You can also purchase a wall mount. We recommend getting the model that comes with the solar roof, though you can purchase the roof separately, as well as a perch, a hummingbird feeder, and other add-ons.

It has a lively community. The Bird Buddy app gives you a few ways to see birds beyond your backyard. Under Settings, BB Explore allows you to view videos and photos from five specific feeders located at Aloha Acres in Hawaii, Bird’s Eye Tower in Panama, Dove Buddy in Canada, Misty Mountain Trail in India, and Tropical Garden in Ecuador. Each spot features interesting birds against a lush backdrop. You need to tap to connect to each feeder if you want to view the content, which then delivers photos and videos to your main activity feed. If you have a Bird Buddy Premium subscription ($6 per month or $60 per year), you can increase that number to as many as 25 feeders.

Another tab in the app, labeled BB TV, provides endless bird action via publicly shared videos from Bird Buddy feeder owners all over the world. Unfortunately, you can’t interact with other birders, but BB Explore allows you to collect photos and videos for your in-app Collection, which organizes birds by type, timeline, or number of visits.

The AI is fussy, which can be either a perk or a problem. In our tests, this feeder delivered considerably fewer smartphone notifications, photos, and video than our top pick. Bird Buddy says that the AI works to deliver only the best of the best pop-ins. However, I set up a separate security camera nearby to see how much the Bird Buddy feeder was missing — and many of those events seemed like meaningful visits.

Sometimes, fewer notifications can be a good thing, because when there’s a free lunch, birds tend to come early and often — and all of those notifications could drive you bananas. If you’re worried that you are missing out, there are Frenzy and More-action modes, which deliver more notifications and more action, although the feeder still missed a lot of visits.

Cloud storage is lengthy and free. Unlike the Birdfy model, the Bird Buddy feeder can capture clips up to one minute long, though it caps cloud storage at 20GB. If you want to hang on to footage of a specific visit, you can save the video or photos to your Collection with a tap.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The add-ons — some of which we’d call essential — are expensive. While we recommend a solar panel for any smart bird feeder, it’s a must with the Bird Buddy model, which averages 2-3 weeks of battery life when fully charged. (In contrast, the Birdfy Feeder should be able to go for at least three months.)

You can purchase a Bird Buddy Pro bundle with a solar roof or add the solar roof separately; either way, the piece makes this feeder a more expensive package. And while you have your wallet out, consider adding the $30 perch — we found that having one consistently attracted more visitors.

It doesn’t track nighttime visitors. Unlike the Birdfy Feeder, the Bird Buddy Pro does not have night vision, so you won’t be able to catch any midnight (or other night) snackers.

The feeder is not easy to fill — and you may be doing that often. The Bird Buddy model’s seed bin holds just 1 liter, a third less than our top pick. It’s also not as easy to fill, via a small flip-down window around the back. We do love that this feeder comes with a little seed cup, which we used to fill every feeder we tested. However, because the opening is so small, you can expect to drop some seeds. (The birds, squirrels, mice, and other critters won’t mind, though.)

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Cam Drive Feeder. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Privacy and security snapshot

• Bird Buddy may share data with third parties, as outlined in section “4.4.3 Our processors/service providers” in its privacy policy.
• Bird Buddy may occasionally process personal data for the purposes of complying with legal requirements and other regulations.
• All location data collected is “non-precise.” The data serves to help identify bird species and may be shared with third-party processors in relation to storage of AI-related services.
• Bird Buddy does not offer two-factor authentication, although a username and password are required for use of the app.

For more details, read Bird Buddy’s privacy statement.

Odds are, you’ve probably seen or know someone who has a smart bird feeder. They’re fairly recognizable from a distance with their clear housing, cameras, and solar panels, and perhaps a friend or family member has sent you a photo or video of a bright goldfinch or handsome woodpecker (guilty). The question at this point, then, is whether these things are really worth the $100-plus price tag. Are they actually durable? And what about the squirrel problem?

Lucky for you we’ve been testing the most popular smart bird feeder models, including Netvue’s original Birdfy feeder ($135) and Bird Buddy's new Pro model ($199), for months on end—in rain, snow, and heat, and in a yard with persistent squirrels. We’ve explored the apps and notification settings, installed any optional solar panels, and used Cornell Lab’s All About Birds—as well as Google Lens and our own local expertise—to verify the accuracy of AI identifications.

Updated June : We've added a hummingbird feeder from FeatherSnap, Birdfy's new Bath Pro, and two options from Camojojo Hibird.

Best Overall

This cheery blue- or yellow-roofed feeder, from security company Netvue, is the first smart feeder former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano tested, back in . At that time she gave it a 6/10 rating for its price and wonky AI. Both metrics have improved since then—I was impressed with the Birdfy app's AI when I tested the upgraded 2 Duo (see below), and this feeder is very often on sale for $200 or less. If you pay $20 more, you get a lifetime subscription of AI identification, which is a solid deal. Without it, it'll cost you $5 a month. This is the feeder I bought my elderly parents for Christmas during an Amazon Prime Day sale for its reliability and ease of use, though like Medea, they weren't overly impressed with the AI. That said, I've tested feeders from multiple brands and, given the wide variability in lighting, shadows, and camera cleanliness, no AI is going to perform flawlessly. Unlike some brands’, Birdfy's AI still works more often than it doesn't.

Medea found that the P wide-angle camera picks up a lot more movement from non-birds, so you may end up with a ton of notifications depending on where this is placed. If you're hoping for a bird-feeder/security-camera hybrid, though, this could be exactly what you want—especially since it offers color night vision. The IP65 plastic construction also makes this feeder durable and easier to clean, and the 50-ounce seed reservoir is far easier to fill than the Bird Buddy with its convenient flip-up top. Not all bundles come with a solar panel, but you can buy it separately. Unlike other feeders, the solar panel is not built in and will have to be mounted and connected separately with the included 9.8-foot charging cable. (The Birdfy comes with a pole mount, wall mount, and tree strap.)

Best Connectivity

Camojojo

Hibird 4K HD Smart Bird Feeder With Camera

If your router only allows for 5-GHz Wi-Fi, you may have been feeling you're missing out on the bird feeder camera craze, as most of the cameras run on 2.4 GHz only. Lucky for you, there's a feeder that not only runs on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz but is among the most feature-rich and reliable I've tested. It's got a sturdy body, 4K ultra-HD video, p photos, an included 128-GB SD card, and no subscription needed. (Though that may change, Hibird's rep told me, as the brand's overhead with research and development is not sustainable.) It's easy to set up right out of the box, with clear instructions and a generous 1.5-liter feed container that's simple to fill. The AI is OK, somewhere between Amazon brands and more established companies like Bird Buddy and Birdfy. The app also isn't the snazziest, and the Chat GPT-like “Dr. Bird” question function is a bit corny, but everything else is extremely well done and the photo and video quality is truly top-tier.

Push alerts tell you what bird triggered the camera so you know if it's worth bothering to look, and there's a squirrel alert that sounds like my neighborhood elementary school bell, though it does nothing to deter the rodents. This is unfortunate, since the only mounting option is via bracket. (This feeder did suffer some chewing damage during the test period.) I also appreciate that the assembly screws have little handles on them, so you won't need a screwdriver. I tested the non-solar version, and even though the manual says the battery lasts six months, it lasted only two weeks in my tests, so I'd recommend the solar version if you don't want to deal with regular recharges.

Best-Looking

Birdfy has a couple feeders we recommend. This bamboo one is the best looking, but it comes with a bit of upkeep. It doesn't have plastic parts like the rest of the feeders on this list (note that Birdfy also makes an all-metal feeder, though we haven't yet tested that one), and with its black and natural wood hues, it looks like it belongs in nature. An extendable perch lets multiple birds gather and investigate, and it has two large bins for either different types of seeds or the same. (The bins mingle in the tray at the bottom, however. The FeatherSnap feeder below uses separate bins and trays if you prefer that.)

Like most of the other feeders on this list, it can be mounted on a pole or tree or hung from a hook. It also comes with a solar panel that you can mount as well, so you never have to think about charging the camera battery.

As beautiful as the bamboo feeder is, it does require maintenance. Birdfy notes that the feeder has a waterproof rating of IP65 and that it's mold- and rot-resistant. However, the user manual states that it needs to be sealed. Via Reddit, Birdfy recommends sealing using a bird-safe wood sealer. I can't comment directly on its durability, since when I tested this feeder I used it on a table on my covered balcony. —Medea Giordano

Best Smart Hummingbird Feeder

Bird Buddy

Pro Smart Solar Hummingbird Feeder

Bird Buddy is known for its user-friendliness and thoughtful app, and its new Pro Smart Hummingbird Feeder is no exception. Everything about its use is intuitive and easy. AI identification, 5-MP photos, HD 2K video with slo-mo, everything you need is included out of the box—no subscription needed. There’s no auxiliary solar panel to worry about, as it’s built into the roof. Pairing with your is a cinch, integrating it into the Bird Buddy app with other feeders is a snap, and even filling it is no problem—unlike other feeders that have weirdly cavernous capacities and/or need to be filled upside down, the Bird Buddy’s bottom screws off and holds a reasonable 1.75 cups of liquid. This is more important than you’d think, as Cornell Lab of Ornithology points out that the easier it is to clean a hummingbird feeder, the more likely you are to do it often and well.

It also comes with extra plastic flowers and a little brush, and the app sends reminders as to when it's time to clean. As with the Bird Buddy Pro seed feeder (7/10, WIRED Recommends), the sensor doesn’t always pick up every bird that visits, which can definitely be a bummer when you see something interesting out the window but it doesn’t show up in the app. Hopefully, this will be remedied on subsequent app updates.

Best-Looking Smart Birdhouse

Birdfy

Nest Polygon Smart Birdhouse

Birdfy’s new Polygon Smart Birdhouse (7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t the first smart birdhouse on the market, but it is the most interesting-looking. The parallelogram-esque, turquoise-paneled shape won a Gold award at ’s French Design Awards, and it’s easy enough to mount on a pole, fence, or tree. All the camera equipment is located in an easy-to-open rear hatch, and there’s even a remote control at the end of a 10-foot cord to be able to charge (though it has a built-in solar panel, so you likely won’t need to) or reset the p camera.

It's simple to integrate with the easy-to-use Birdfy app, which is ready and waiting to assemble a bird's shareable “story,” from assembly of the nest to hatching to fledgling, and finally “the end,” when the nest is abandoned for the season. Note that the camera does emit an audible click whenever it's triggered by movement or the app, and the inside is a little larger than most birds would naturally gravitate to. Our test house hasn’t had any bird visitors yet this year, but a project director for Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch said it should only be a matter of time.

Best App

Bird Buddy's newest upgrade (7/10, WIRED Recommends) looks much the same as its soon-to-be-phased-out original feeder, save for a snazzy new HDR camera that can also shoot 2K HD video with slow-motion capability. It's been going strong in my yard for over four months now. In addition to having a visibly larger and more advanced lens, the camera's now got a larger focus range, wider field of view, and high-fidelity microphone. (A subscription to Premium for $7.50 a month unlocks 2K Ultra with a higher video bitrate, allowing for richer colors, sharper images, and less background noise, but it's perfectly usable without this. )

The photos aren't nearly as impressive as the Birdfy Duo's or Camojojo Hibird's, and the camera, frustratingly, only captures a handful of the birds that visit. (The non-solar version is currently flagged as a frequently returned item on Amazon due to both this and charging issues, so I recommend the solar version.) But the app is a standout, with a user-friendly design and plenty of helpful alerts, like if a cat is detected nearby, or if it's time to clean the feeder. It also serves you insights gathered over time, like what time certain species seem to prefer to visit. (Finches apparently like to visit my yard at 10 am daily.) The Bird Buddy also “sleeps” at night and does not seem to emphasize capturing photos of people, so it wouldn't make a good choice to double as a security camera. Both Bird Buddys work with 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi only.

Installation options include a hanger or universal mount for a standard-size pole (not included). If you live in an area frequented by squirrels, I highly recommend abiding by Bird Buddy's “5-7-9” rule for siting your feeder: 5 feet off the ground, 7 feet away from trees or structures, and 9 feet of clearance above it. Squirrels haven't shown interest in chewing my Bird Buddy Pro, which is hanging from a shepherd's hook near a tree, but they will swing on it, spilling much of the seed.

One of the biggest downsides of both Bird Buddys is the infuriatingly small, hinged opening for filling the 4 cups' worth of seed. The feeder comes with its own spouted cup, but I have yet to fill the feeder without making an enormous mess. I also have the 3-in-1 Nutrition Set ($39), which includes a screw-on tray that can variably become a water fountain, jelly dish, or fruit stake for fruit-loving species like orioles. I've used it as a jelly dish and water fountain and found that it blocks enough of the perch area that birds tend to shift out of camera view to avoid it. Overall, this upgrade over the original may be worth it if you plan to take advantage of some of the app's sharing features, especially Premium's ability to share your feeder livestream with others.

Best for DIY

Camojojo

Hibird DIY

If you have an existing bird feeder you like, or are interested in building your own and are just looking for a camera, you can do much worse than the Hibird DIY. It's compatible with both 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz Wi-Fi bands—a rarity for bird feeder cameras—and the cute green owl face streams the same 4K HD video and p pics as the bigger Hibird feeder. No subscription is needed, though a Hibird rep says that may change in the future. There's am auxiliary solar panel included for charging, and you can mount it via its ¼-inch nut on the included bendable arm and bracket, or jury-rig a custom solution. It pairs seamlessly with the Hibird app, with access to AI (which is just OK), livestreaming, and the Dr. Bird Chat GPT-like feature, where you can ask bird-related questions. (The answers are corny and not as granular as they could be, but it still could be useful for some.)

Honorable Mentions

After 10 months of dealing with squirrels, rats, sprouting seeds, and sticky hummingbird nectar, I was more than ready to try this lower-maintenance way to enjoy the birds in my yard. Birdfy’s new recycled-plastic birdbath comes outfitted with a dual-lens camera sending 2 MP/p photos and 3 MP/2K video via the excellent Birdfy app and utilizing the app’s AI for bird identification. With the IP66-rated birdbath’s sturdy metal base (sold separately) and solar-powered battery and fountain pump, all I had to do was make sure the 3.5-liter, 1.65-inch reservoir was topped off with water. Theoretically. In reality, it only took 24 hours for me to realize this new toy was not actually serving as a birdbath in my yard but as a high-traffic hand-washing station for raccoons.

Every night they appeared, dropping leaves into the water, trying to grab the camera, and in one case even absconding with one of the pump filters. This still would have been an entertaining experience had it not been for the same problem that plagued Birdfy’s Pro Duo feeder (see below): a constantly dropping camera connection. Even when the birdbath was stationed directly outside the wall where my router was, the camera would go offline at least once a day—sometimes multiple times a day. Rebooting remedied the issue for another 12 hours or so, but then it went right back offline. Like the Pro Duo, this is an otherwise quality-made and -engineered product, and I'm hoping Birdfy can work out the camera kinks.

Birdfy's flagship upgrade for , winner of this year's CES Innovation Award and an American Good Design Gold Award, has the best photo and video quality of any Birdfy smart feeder. There's one dual-lens front-facing camera (2-MP/p wide angle and 3-MP/2K portrait) and one 2-MP/p side camera, and both capture sharp, highly detailed video with high-quality sound. The front-facing camera will even pan and crop to ensure it's focused on a bird. (Note that there's also a cheaper, single-camera version of the Feeder 2 that we haven't tested.) The feeder's IP66-rated plastic body, which has held up very well so far in Pacific Northwest winter weather, is wall-, pole-, or tree-mountable. An auxiliary solar panel and lifetime AI bird identification are both included.

The reservoir holds slightly less seed than the original plastic Birdfy, at 42 ounces vs. Birdfy 1’s 50 ounces, which is just as well, as this feeder seems to be a magnet for squirrels who like to chew on it and steal the seed. I had constant trouble with the rodents chewing off the sides and compartment dividers during my two months of testing. (I had marginal success mixing Audubon Wild Bird Food with habanero-based Cole’s Flaming Squirrel Sauce, $16, but the squirrels did come back eventually.)

Like the original Birdfy, there were some issues with non-bird movement triggering the camera, but overall I was impressed with both the image quality and the Birdfy app's updated AI identification—I’m a longtime birder, and more than once I was incredulous about an ID that ended up being correct upon closer inspection. In fact, one afternoon a new bird (a chestnut-backed chickadee) visited the backyard, and out of all the feeders I had up at the time, this was the only one to correctly identify it.

That said, there are some serious flaws that kept this camera from earning top billing. Both cameras repeatedly dropped connections during the two-month testing period, even though I was using the required 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi network (Birdfy cameras cannot run on 5 GHz). The solar panel, which must be mounted separately, also failed to keep the cameras consistently charged in cloudy weather. I also didn’t love that the cameras didn’t work in tandem—they don't offer views in the same app window as with the Birdfy Hum, below. Birdfy says this will soon be rectified with an app update, so prospective buyers may want to wait until Birdfy works out some more kinks.

Harymor Bird Feeder With Camera for $120: This Amazon feeder's app leaves much to be desired, but it does get major points for staying fully charged for two months with its 3-watt built-in roof solar panel, despite getting very little sun in my Pacific Northwest winter backyard. Like many inexpensive feeder cameras, most of the Harymor's advertised features—such as AI identification and the ability to take 2K video—are hidden behind a subscription paywall ($4 a month, or $48 a year), in this case in the VicoHome app. However, even when the subscription is activated, the AI is wrong more often than it's right.

Sehmua Bird Feeder With Camera for $80: From the same makers as the Harymor bird feeder, above, the Sehmua is nearly identical to the Harymor, but without the built-in solar roof. I was especially amused by the box it arrived in, which features a hummingbird. (This is, of course, a seed feeder.) Unlike other feeders that also require an auxiliary solar panel, the Sehmua has a weird USB-C dongle that hangs off the back; it’s not removable, and it’s used for charging the camera as well. What the Sehmua does have going for it over the Harymor, though, is much improved AI, which also links to a bird species’ Wikipedia page and gives options for corrections. It’s also fully usable out of the box with a yearlong free-trial subscription—a rarity among bird feeders in this price range—via the user-friendly Ubox app, and the photo and video quality are quite solid, though not as sharp as Bird Buddy's or Birdfy's. There's a lifetime free subscription version for $10 more, which Sehmua's rep assures me is otherwise exactly the same. I also like that this one's app labels all captures with a bird ID, so you can scroll down the day’s list and immediately see what’s worth clicking on.

FeatherSnap Scout Wi-Fi Solar Powered Smart Bird Feeder for $180: Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano tested the FeatherSnap Scout when it debuted in June , and I retested it in early . It's got a dual feed bay (4.2 cups each side, for a total of 8.4 cups capacity), built-in solar panel, expandable perch, and pretty solid 4-MP photo and p video capability, the clarity and quality of which were on par with more expensive cameras like the Bird Buddy. There’s also an option to view video in 0.5-speed slo-mo. As with most of the cheaper cameras, however, many of the features (like AI identification and video) are hidden behind a subscription.

I didn’t find the ornithologist-trained AI identification to be super accurate, and the app was overall cumbersome to use, taking a while to load and then requiring multiple steps to engage the AI feature. I also didn't like that users must make an account that requires an address and number just to use the feeder, even if they’re not buying a premium plan. And if they are buying a premium plan, they can’t do it through the app store. They have to go through Feathersnap’s website, which requires entering raw credit card info—no alternative pay options like PayPal or Apple Pay—and their address once again. I also found it automatically charged my credit card at the end of the monthlong subscription feature without warning, and there was no option to stop the recurring charge other than deleting my account.

FeatherSnap Hummingbird Feeder for $180: Feathersnap just released its new HD-camera hummingbird feeder in May , but like the Scout, it only supports still photos and a live feed without a subscription, which is a hassle to sign up for and difficult to cancel. It also holds up to 4 cups of nectar, but there are no instructions on how long one should leave liquid in the feeder (hummingbirds can become ill and die quickly from spoiled nectar), and that amount seems excessive for several days’ worth. That said, this is otherwise a sturdy and well-made feeder with multiple mounting options, an ant moat on top, and a convenient built-in solar panel that does a terrific job of holding a charge, even during extended cloudy periods. Despite the hassle with the subscription, this feeder experienced no connectivity or other issues during my testing period.

PeckPerk Smart Bird Feeder for $160: One of the most unique-looking smart feeders on the market, the PeckPerk sports a teardrop shape inspired by a weaver bird nest, fronted by a 5-inch-long perch styled to look like twigs. Of particular interest to me, some of its early web copy promoted it as “squirrel proof.” I couldn’t figure out why this might be until 7 am one Saturday morning, when I heard what sounded like a tinny burglar alarm ringing somewhere beyond the bushes outside my living room window. I went outside, and lo and behold, a squirrel was sitting on the PeckPerk, munching away at a sunflower seed while a high-pitched alarm blared right in its face. I could tell this was not the first time this had happened (sorry, neighbors!), as the squirrel was completely unfazed. PeckPerk does get points for trying, though. (And it should be noted this alarm is easily disabled.)

It also gets points for being exceedingly easy to fill, being one of the few feeders that can mount well on a tree or on a tripod, and having solid night vision with its 2K camera. However, not only does it require a subscription to record video and the mounting of an auxiliary solar panel, limiting where it can be placed, the app interface was extremely rudimentary compared with other feeders’ and not at all intuitive.

Harymor Hummingbird Feeder With Camera for $75: I expected this hummingbird feeder to look somewhat like its seed-feeder sibling, above, but other than its also using the VicoHome app, it bears absolutely zero resemblance. It’s got a funny little red umbrella-shaped top, and the box, which features a vaguely Asian-themed font, has no brand name listed. I do like that it comes with a big bottle brush and a smaller brush for the flowers, and that it has interchangeable lavender and bluish-purple flowers to go with the standard yellow. I used one of each to see if there was one our resident Anna’s hummingbirds preferred, but they seemed indiscriminately interested in all of them. Like the seed feeder, there are only still photos and live feed without an additional subscription, and I didn’t love how many false alarms seemed to be recorded. There’s an indentation on the lid that holds water for an ant moat, but since the solar panel must be mounted separately, ants could easily use the cord to reach the feeder.

Birdfy Hum Feeder Duo for $210: Birdfy’s new Hum Feeder Duo is the hummingbird feeder version of the new Duo seed feeder, above. Both versions of the Hum consist of a clear, BPA-free, anti-mold bottle that screws into a red base with a trio of plastic flowers. The duo has two 3-MP 2K cameras—one front-facing and one side-facing. The cameras charge together and work together to provide a side-by-side view in the app. I had zero problems with setup—after an overnight charge, the feeder was up and running in about 10 minutes. One charge lasted a little over a week in Pacific Northwest November temperatures, though for $20 more you can spring for the solar panel add-on with a patented ant moat (I have not tried this yet).

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