124 METHODS OF ATTRACTING BIRDS 



tangles of shrubs and vines, furnish retreats for 

 many of the smaller birds when pursued by hawks; 

 and serve as shelter for winter birds. 



Plants for Nesting -sites. — While occasion- 

 ally some birds seem to show a preference for 

 some particular kind of tree or shrub in which to 

 place their nests, usually it is a question of the 

 general locality, with its surroundings and the 

 food and protection given, which decides the bird 

 in its selection of a nesting-site. So that those 

 plants which will best serve the purpose of food 

 and shelter will also furnish nesting-sites. A num- 

 ber of trees and tangles of shrubbery, thickly over- 

 grown with vines, furnish the needed conditions 

 for nesting-sites, provided the other factors are 

 favorable. 



In selecting trees we should not forget the 

 elm, from whose graceful limbs the oriole so 

 often hangs its swinging nest. If hedges are 

 substituted for fences they may furnish nesting- 

 sites, and at the same time serve as a means of 

 ornamentation. 



Experiments in Germany, — Baron von Ber- 

 lepsch has carried on some very successful experi- 

 ments in Germany in planting shrubs and trees 

 to serve especially as nesting-sites. In his shelter 



