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Avoid Feeding RisksFrom time to time, mixtures other than sugar water have been proposed for feeding hummingbirds. All of them present unacceptable risks. This is especially true of honey-water mixtures. Not only is honey an unnatural food for hummingbirds, but it spoils much more quickly than sugar water and contains a bacteria that causes a fungal disease on the tongue. The disease is always fatal.White sugar, on the other hand, is a sucrose sugar like the sucrose in flower nectar. The strength of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water closely approximates the strength of flower nectar. Stronger concentrations have adversely affected the liver of captive birds; weaker concentrations are less attractive to hummingbirds.Other mixtures that are unsafe and that should be avoided are those that contain nutritional additives. Hummingbirds supplement their nectar diet with foods they find in the wild; therefore, protein supplements are unnecessary; they are also potentially harmful.The same is true of red food coloring. An artificial dye, red food coloring is often added to mixtures so that hummingbirds, with their well-known affinity for red, will quickly be attracted to the feeder. The safety of red dye has been questioned regarding its use in foods for human consumption. Nearly all commercial feeders are already decorated with red plastic flowers or tinted with red. Therefore, the addition of red food coloring is unnecessary, as well as potentially harmful. Once hummingbirds discover a feeder, they continue to come to it regardless of its color.