BIRD BASINS AND FEEDING TABLES 



the rustic structure, bark-covered posts are used, 

 with bark-fringed collars around the wire ' ' cat- teas- 

 ers, " and bark-covered limbs to finish the edges of 

 the food shelves or platforms. On the sloping roof 

 gables the covering of tar paper or rubberoid is fin- 

 ished with closely set rustic branches covering the 

 entire surface, on the order of a bamboo roof. Two 

 tables, or floors, or platforms, as they are variously 

 called, are generally used for these food houses. 

 They are set about a foot apart, and, with different 

 varieties of food, they will accommodate many birds. 

 When three or more shelves are desired for the 

 larger houses, they are set closer together. Then 

 from the roof of the house may be hung the suet or 

 meat bones that give zest to the feast. It is not un- 

 usual for decorative food houses to be constructed 

 on large dimensions, from three to six feet square. 

 The overhanging eaves of the decorative roof give 

 a curious appearance mounted on a pole high above 

 the ground. When the food houses are large enough 

 to require four corner posts for their support (in- 

 stead of the one stout post), each must be carefully 

 protected by tin, zinc, or wire, to insure safety for 

 the birds. 



When it is possible to attract birds of larger size, 

 such as the quail and the blue- jay, they should have 



155 



