Bird Lovers as Landlords 213 



Sparrow hawks are usually birds of the open 

 country and often nest in isolated trees. Nest 

 boxes hung on such trees within the birds' breed- 

 ing range, and from fifteen to twenty-five feet 

 above the ground are apt to be occupied. Care 

 should be taken that these beautiful and useful 

 little hawks are not mistaken for sharp-shinned 

 hawks, and killed. 



Wood ducks and mallards both take kindly 

 to artificial nesting sites, and golden eyes and 

 American mergansers probably will do so eventu- 

 ally. Nesting boxes for wood ducks should be 

 placed on trees within two or three hundred feet 

 of some pond or stream, or if the ducks are tame, 

 the boxes may be fastened a foot or so above the 

 surface of the water upon posts driven into the 

 mud at the bottom. In this case it is well to 

 have a sort of gang-plank, made of a board with 

 cleats nailed across it, leading from the entrance 

 hole to a little float resting on the water. The 

 ducks will climb out on the float and by means 

 of the gang-plank reach the entrance to the nest 

 box. 



Three-toed woodpeckers usually inhabit living 

 evergreen forests and nest boxes intended to at- 

 tract them, may be placed from ten to twenty- 

 five feet from the ground. These birds have not 

 yet been known to use artificial nesting sites. 



