CHAPTER IX 



THE BIRD LOVER AS A LANDLORD 



I doubt if it ever occurs to the average person 

 that birds are actually in need of nesting sites. 

 Of course there are thousands of people who 

 believe that it is a good thing to encourage blue- 

 birds and tree swallows and wrens by putting up 

 nesting boxes in the gardens and orchards, but 

 most of them do it chiefly because it is interesting 

 and delightful to have the birds about. A few 

 go as far as to plant shrubbery in the hope that 

 catbirds and songsparrows and a few others will 

 make their homes in it. But they rarely do this 

 because they think the birds need it. As they 

 look out over the country side and see all the 

 trees and bushes, it seems as if the birds had 

 far more nesting sites than they could possibly 

 use and the fact that so many of these trees and 

 shrubs are not used by the birds, seems to con- 

 firm the opinion. The chances are, however, that 

 many of these apparently good nesting sites are 



unused for the very simple reason that they are 



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