I planted giant graystripe sunflowers one year and the birds left them alone. It was a looong time ago and I didn't have as many birds around my yard back then. Maybe I should try planting them again.

Some sunflowers may have a higher oil or sugar content.

I didn't "plant" any sunflowers this year, but I feed with Black Oil sunflowers. Somone planted hundreds of them in my yard. I pulled out all but 50 and the birds are going wild. So my my suggetsion is buy black oil and scatter the seeds. Unbelieveable the number of birds flying around, even my neighbor who is blind commented on the birds(lots of goldfinches that look like the sunflowers explode when I go out).

I have a problem with some sort of larva in the seeds of my sunflowers. They eat the seed and leave the hulls. I have yet to find something that I think would be safe birds and allow the seeds to ripen. What ever it is infests the heads before the seeds form. If you pull on the back of the formed head there will be hollows between the skin and the seeds themselves. If you open one of the seeds there is nothing there. Can anyone give any suggestions. I tried bags but waited too late.

Yes, I think birds do like some sunflowers better than others. In my garden, the favorite seems to be orange Mexican sunflowers.

I have discovered larva in one of my sunflowers as well, although I suspect that the birds are eating the larva as well as the seeds. I am curious as to what exactly that larva is.

There are several moths that infest sunflowers:

Marie

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/sunflower.html