xiv BIRDS OF AMERICA 



gourds each with a large hole in the side completed the tenements for this well contented 

 Martin community. 



There are a few simple rules on the making and placing of bird-boxes that should be 

 observed. 



1. In the case of all nest-boxes, except those designed for Martins, the opening should 

 be several inches above the floor, thus conforming to the general plan of the Woodpecker's 

 hole, or the natural cavity in a tree. 



2. As a rule nest-boxes should be erected on poles from ten to thirty feet from the ground, 

 or fastened to the sides of trees where limbs do not interfere with the outlook. The main 

 exception to this rule is in the case of Wrens, where the boxes or gourds intended for their 

 use may be nailed or wired in fruit trees or about out-buildings. 



3. Martin houses should be erected on poles at least twenty feet high and placed well 

 out in the open, not less than one hundred feet from buildings or large trees. 



4. All boxes should be taken down after the nesting season and the old nesting material 

 removed. 



Much may be done to bring the birds about the home by placing food where they may 

 readily get it. The majority of land-birds that pass the winter in Canada or the colder parts 

 of the United States, feed mainly on seeds. Cracked corn, wheat, rice, sunflower seed, and 

 bird-seed which may be purchased readily in any town, are therefore exceedingly attrac- 

 tive articles of diet. Bread crumbs are enjoyed by many species. Food should not be thrown 

 out on the snow unless there is a crust or the snow has been well trampled down. Usually 

 it should be placed on boards. Various feeding devices have been made of such character 

 as to prevent the food being covered or washed away by snow or rain. Suet tied to the 

 limbs of trees on the lawn will give comfort and nourishment to many a Chickadee, Nuthatch, 

 and Downy Woodpecker. To make a bird sanctuary, therefore, nesting sites and food are 

 among the first requirements. There appears to be no reason why town and city parks 

 everywhere should not be made into places of great attraction for the wild birds. 



At Meriden, New Hampshire, there is a tract of land containing thirty-two acres of field 

 and woods, which is dedicated to the comfort and happiness of wild birds. It is owned by 

 the Meriden Bird Club. The entire community takes an interest in its maintenance, and 

 here birds are fed and nesting places provided. It is in the widest sense a " community 

 sanctuary." There are now a number of these cooperative bird-havens established and cared 

 for in much the same manner. One is in Cincinnati, another in Ithaca, New York, and still 

 another at Greenwich, Connecticut. 



The best equipped of this class of community bird-refuges, as distinguished from private 

 estates, or Audubon Society, State, or Federal bird-reservations, is Birdcraft Sanctuary, 

 located in Fairfield, Connecticut. This tract of ten acres was presented to the Connecticut 

 Audubon Society in June, 19 14. A cat-proof fence surrounds the entire place. That it 

 may not look aggressive, it is set well inside the picturesque old wall. Stone gate-posts and 

 a rustic gate greet the visitor at the entrance on the highway. There is a bungalow for the 

 caretaker and a tool and workshop of corresponding style. Several rustic shelters and many 

 seats are about. The various springs on the place were assembled into a pond. Trails were 

 cut through the brush and the turf grass, and a charming bit of old orchard on the hill-top, 

 was restored for the benefit of worm-pulling Robins. Stone basins were constructed for 

 bird-baths, houses are put up for all sorts of birds, from Wren boxes, von Berlepsch model, 

 Flicker boxes and Owl boxes, to a Martin hotel; and lastly, the natural growth has been 

 supplemented by planting pines, spruce, and hemlocks for windbreakers, and mountain ash, 

 mulberries, sweet cherries, flowering shrubs, and vines for berries. Not only were all these 

 things done, but there has been built and equipped a small museum of Natural History, 

 which for good taste and usefulness one would need to travel far to find its equal. 



The interest in this subject is growing every day, in fact, America is to-day planning 

 new homes for her birds — homes where they may live with unrestricted freedom, where 



