BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



But such a cavity is not necessary, for these 

 birds will build their nests in houses which are 

 hollowed straight down. The house in figure 

 3 in illustration was made in this way. 



Our first Bluebird house was just a small 

 grocery box, over which the boys tacked bark 

 to cover the newness of the wood and give it a 

 more natural appearance. The birds nested in 

 it the first summer, but the following spring, 

 when houses made of hollow apple wood were 

 put up, they removed to one of those. Hav- 

 ing studied the birds since then, we fear they 

 were very uncomfortable and unsafe in that 

 first house, and hard-pushed for a nesting place 

 to have accepted it at all. It was draughty and 

 hung on the tree up among the branches where, 

 when the leaves came out, it was in perpetual 

 shade, and the entrance was big enough to have 

 admitted a squirrel or a small cat. 



If the houses for these birds are made of 

 boxes they should be firmly held together, with 

 no draughty corners. The opening for the 

 Bluebird should be not less than an inch and 

 a half in diameter. This is the size always 

 given, though we have found that just a trifle 

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