212 Wild Bird Guests 



From twelve to twenty feet will suit them as to 

 height. 



Pileated woodpeckers, so far as I know, have 

 never occupied artificial nesting boxes, but 

 perhaps this is simply because no one has ever 

 hung properly-made ones in suitable places. 

 These woodpeckers are birds which usually 

 prefer old forests, and it is here that nest boxes 

 intended for them should be placed. Judging 

 from their natural nesting sites, anywhere from 

 fifteen to twenty-five feet would be a good height. 



Yellow-bellied sapsuckers will nest in open 

 woodland or in shade trees in gardens or along 

 country roads and village streets. From fifteen 

 to twenty feet would be a good height for nest 

 boxes intended for their use. As sapsuckers 

 are known to be destroyers of certain kinds of 

 trees, especially of birches, which they girdle 

 with holes in order to get the sap, some people 

 may not wish to encourage them. But they 

 should not be confused with other woodpeckers, 

 most of which are very useful birds. 



Saw whet or Acadian owls are often found 

 nesting in old woodpeckers' holes or deserted 

 squirrels' nests. Nest boxes intended for them 

 may be hung in woodland or on the sides of 

 isolated buildings, and anywhere from ten to 

 twenty feet would be a good height. 



