Learning About Birds Through Stories

A HOME with a bird-house somewhere in sight, has always had an especial appeal to the author. In language plainer than words it says that some one there is a lover of birds, has taken thought for the birds, and has sought to attract them to that home.

In the interests of both the birds and the home, therefore, boys and girls everywhere should be encouraged to build bird-houses and nesting-boxes. Many thoughtful people are beginning to realize the value and importance of this, and so we find, in various parts of the country, prize contests being conducted for the best bird-houses built by school children.

In 1922, the American Forestry Association of Washington, D. C., conducted such a contest. The houses made were placed on exhibition in the New National Museum.

In 1926, the Lions Club of Washington conducted another bird-house contest, offering prizes amounting to $100 for the best houses made. The exhibition was made in the new Mayflower Hotel, the largest hotel in the city. Three of the prize models were selected for permanent use on the White House grounds.

There is no end to the variety of models, shapes, and sizes that may be made. Properly made, the birds like them all. But while the small, simple, and plain ones, carefully and neatly made, are always beautiful, and can be made with little effort, time, or expense, more elaborate ones can also be produced by those who care to take the time and pains necessary to construct them.

A small upright box, four, five, or six inches square, and as many inches high, with a slanting roof projecting well in front, and a round inch hole cut toward the top in front, makes a birdhouse.

Or a box five or six inches wide, and seven or eight inches long, with a gable roof, and a little chimney tacked on top of the middle of the roof, and an opening in one end, all neatly painted, makes another respectable but simple bird-house, more like a dwelling-house.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION

Whatever model may be selected, there are few general principles which should be observe in their construction. Condensed largely from Farmers' Bulletin No. 1456, on "Homes for Birds," issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, these may be stated as follows:

Wood is by all means the best building material for making bird-houses. Cypress, pine, and poplar are among the best woods to use, though it is desirable to have a piece of red cedar somewhere in the construction of each house. The first-named wood is the most durable. Metal should be avoided, as it is a great conductor of heat. Some small birds, however, seem quite glad to get inside a rusty quart tin can.

Sawmill waste, such as slabs with the bark on, furnish cheap and satisfactory material for rustic houses.

Where a rustic finish is not sought, the houses should be painted. This enhances their weathering qualities and also improves their appearance. Either white, or modest tones, such as brown, gray, or dull green, are generally to be preferred. For variety and pleasing effect, the body may be painted one color and the roof another.

The roof should be of sufficient pitch to shed water readily. The portion of the roof overhanging the opening should be from two to three inches, so as to protect the entrance hole from driving rain.

All bird-houses and nesting-boxes should be thoroughly waterproof. To provide for the possibility of some water getting inside, a few small gimlet holes may be made in the bottom. Ordinarily these are not thought necessary or required.

The matter of ventilation should not be overlooked. While nesting birds seek privacy and seclusion, they nevertheless need fresh air. But they dislike drafts, and are opposed to fresh air admitted through cracks. It must be remembered, however, that the interior of the birdhouse or nesting-box is small, and that a single small entrance hole gives little ventilation. It is well therefore to have from one to three small holes bored through at least two sides of the four walls near the top. This will give a limited circulation of air without producing drafts. If attention is paid to cool construction, this will make for the comfort of the mother bird, and death of the nestlings during periods of excessive heat will be less likely.

All bird-houses and nesting-boxes should placed so as to be readily accessible, and should be built so as to be easily opened and clean The roofs or tops may be hinged or fastened with hooks, or so constructed that they may removed. The bottom may likewise be hung on one side or end, and secured in place hooks; or one side of the nesting-box may be constructed so that it can be opened or removed. Such constructions are highly desirable.

It is well to clean bird-houses out once year, either late in the fall or early in the spring. Many birds prefer to use a nest but once. They, like to build a new one each year. The old ones should therefore be removed.

Bird-house poles may be hinged and bolted to short posts near the ground, so that by removing the bolts, the pole may be lowered and raised quickly whenever access is desired to the bird-houses on top of them.

The size of entrance holes is determined by the kind of bird the house is made for. An accompanying table indicates these, and their proper distance up from the floor.

Since the modern movements for bird study and bird protection have been in progress, the number of people furnishing homes for birds in the United States has increased immensely in every quarter. Their success in attracting bird tenants has been great, and their hospitality has been accepted by many kinds of birds.

Among the more common species known to have nested in bird-houses, nesting-boxes, or on supporting devices built for them, the following may be named:

Bluebird English sparrow

Robin Purple grackle

Chickadee Starling

Titmouse Phoebe

Nuthatch Flycatcher

House-wren Flicker

Tree-swallow Woodpecker

Barn-swallow Screech-owl

Cliff-swallow Sparrow-hawk

Purple martin Mourning-dove

It is not well to have too many houses or boxes in a limited area. Birds insist on territorial rights, and if the homes are too close together conflicts between prospective tenants may result in none being occupied.

Bird-houses may be hung in trees, fastened to trees, or placed on poles out in the open. On the whole, they seem rather more acceptable on poles than in trees. This probably is because they impress the birds as being safer.

In all cases they should be placed, as far as possible, out of the reach of cats, which are the birds' worst enemy. At best, cats impose a heavy toll on birds annually. The birds should therefore be protected as much as possible from them, either by banishing the cats, putting wire guards around nesting trees, or placing the birdhouses and nesting-boxes on poles out of their reach.

The following are the dimensions of nesting-boxes for different kinds of birds, and the number of feet from the ground to place them, as given in Farmers' Bulletin No. 1456, (1927) issued by the United States Department of Agriculture under the title of "Homes for Birds":