8 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW AS A PEST. 



-i m 



illustrated in figures 2, 3, and 4, may be constructed so that unwel- 

 come tenants can be readily evicted and at the same time acceptable 

 to more desirable species. When a sparrow has had its nest and eggs 

 removed from a box, it not only as a rule seeks another place for its 

 next nest, but is likely to avoid that type of nest box in future. 



Figure 2 represents a nest box designed for the interior of a dilap- 

 idated building, a hole being cut in an outer wall of the building to 

 form the entrance. The box illustrated in figure 3 is intended to he 



hung on the out- 

 side of a build- 

 ing or on a tree 

 where it may be 

 readily exam- 

 ined. Its floor is 

 G inches square 

 and its height at 

 the eaves 8 inches. 

 The roof is cross 

 cleated on the 

 underside and 

 hinged at th e 

 top. If it is de- 

 sired to place 

 such a box where 

 it will be out of 

 reach, it may be 

 constructed, a s 

 shown in figure 4, 

 with the bottom 

 hinged instead of 



& 



the roof. In this 

 case a light pole 

 may be used to 

 open and close 

 the box and to 

 dislodge sparrow nests. As the cost of such boxes is slight, enough 

 should be provided to accommodate all the resident sparrows at once, 

 in order that their nests may be broken up and the birds compelled 

 to seek other quarters as early in the breeding season as possible. All 

 nest boxes designed to be occupied by native birds should be carefully 

 built to avoid warping of parts and consequent drafts of air. 



493 



FIG. 2. Perspective and sectional drawings of an improvised 

 nest box for the interioi- of buildings. 



