PRACTICAL BOOK OF GARDEN ARCHITECTURE 



seclusion naturally shown by most birds in seeking 

 their places for nest building. Wrens, martins and 

 chickadees may be satisfied with houses of many 

 rooms with a tenant in every room, but the majority 

 of birds will desire greater privacy for the delights 

 of housekeeping and rearing their young. When 

 the bird house is to be designed after the order of an 

 architectural plan for human habitation, it is well 

 to have it small and well built rather than large and 

 showy. 



In building houses of this nature if it be done 

 at all it is of first importance to have the roof 

 sloped at a good angle, about forty-five degrees, 

 with overhanging eaves, and made rain-proof. The 

 little outside veranda or other decorative approach 

 must be placed in the right position to give the 

 birds a resting place where they can look into the 

 nest before entering. The separate rooms should 

 be at least six by six inches square, or six by eight, 

 according to the size of the nest built by the birds 

 which are expected as tenants. There should be 

 space for the birds to move about while building 

 their nests in the corner, and for the birdlings to be 

 comfortable when they begin to over-crowd the nest. 

 Another point to be kept in mind if there are four 

 or more apartments to the house, do not have all the 

 entrances on the same side, but give each bird the 



142 



