NESTING-HOUSES 27 



vertical. The entrance hole may be one and a 

 quarter to one and an eighth inches. The smaller 

 size would be more effective in keeping out the 

 English sparrow. Place on a tree, post, or even on 

 the house, by a window ; from ten to twenty-five 

 feet high. These birds are permanent residents, 

 and do not begin to nest until the middle of 

 May, but Mr. Forbush, who has had consider- 

 able success with domesticating chickadees, re- 

 commends that the house be put out in the fall, 

 so as to furnish the birds with shelter during the 

 winter. These are among the easiest birds to at- 

 tract during the winter by providing food, and if 

 they remain during the cold season and use the 

 box as a shelter, they will be more likely to stay 

 and make their nest here. Mr. Forbush writes : 

 " Success in domesticating the chickadee seems to 

 turn mainly on four conditions : first, the locality 

 must be well supplied with trees; second, the 

 English sparrow must be banished from the 

 neighborhood ; third, the chickadees must be ac- 

 customed to remain about the locality by provid- 

 ing food for them in winter; fourth, the boxes 

 must be properly constructed and located." 



Sometimes the chickadees may be induced to 

 build in partially decayed birch-stumps, by bor- 

 ing one and an eighth inch auger holes in the 

 sheltered side. On finding these holes begun, the 



