AVES 



2OI 



7. Preserve old trees, posts, and an occasional thicket in which birds 

 are in the habit of nesting, and erect boxes and other nesting devices 

 for them in suitable places. The character of the boxes will vary with 

 the birds that it is desired to attract, and their architecture may be 

 infinitely varied. Old tin cans, hollow logs, gourds, etc., may be easily 

 made over to suit bird tenants, Fig. 123, 124 and 125, or if more orna- 

 mental structures are desired, the birds will not object after the paint 

 is dry and the newness has worn off. Plans for bird houses are given 

 in various government bulletins and elsewhere. Unless it is desired 



r 



FIG. 126. A martin house. xMo- (From Dearborn, Bird Houses and How to 

 Build Them. This pamphlet gives details of construction.) 



to attract martins, the only house birds that are social, the houses are 

 built for one pair only. 



In many localities it is quite a common custom to build many-roomed 

 and often ornate houses for the use of the purple martin, Prague subis. 

 Such houses, Fig. 126, are usually attached to the top of a pole, 12 to 

 15 feet high; the rooms are about 6X6X6 inches in size. With such 

 a house a colony of martins may sometimes be started from an over- 

 crowded colony several miles away. They are not only cheerful, 



