Abstract: A bird feeder which utilizes a shielding collar that behaves substantially like a universal-joint. The hollow, generally-cylindrical collar surrounds an annular food tray. The collar has a plurality of openings to provide access to the food tray, with a perch rod adjacent each opening. The collar is suspended by a spring device operative to allow the collar to simultaneously tilt, move downwardly and rotate, thus occluding the passage to food whenever the weight and agitated movements of a squirrel are brought to bear upon the collar.