Tony Mortadella wrote:

When finches eat nijer seed, do they (or, are they supposed to)
eat the entire seed, or do they somehow crack the seed open and
discard the outer shell?

I can't rule-out the possibility that they sometimes eat the whole
seed but judging by the litter under my finch feeders, they normally
discard the shell.

That's basically the reason why I was asking.

I'm wondering if the finches are just incredibly messy eaters, or are
these really the shells from the nijer seeds...