ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1253 



Hence, it follows that any boy can build suit- 

 able bird boxes for himself that are as likely to 

 be found acceptable as any others. Those who 

 lack the time or ingenuity for this work, will 

 find the market well supplied by a number of 

 manufacturers. 



The marked colonizing habits of the purple 

 martin have given opportunity for great range 

 of taste in the erection of houses for their occu- 

 pation, and elaborate structures, many perfectly 

 practical as well, are made at prices ranging 

 to •f.'jO or more each. Joseph H. Dodson, the 

 Jacobs Bird House Co., and several others, of- 

 fer a variety of such houses. A small one, cheap 

 but efficient, is made bv the Farley & Loetscher 

 Mfg. Co. 



Of single nest-boxes for small birds, there is 

 great diversity of style, but after all there are 

 but two main types — the hollowed natural log 

 and the artificial house of boards. The manu- 

 facture of the first has been found verj' difficult 

 because of the oddly-shaped bore which is re- 

 quired. The necessary machinery has now been 

 imported by the Audubon Bird House Co., which 

 offers nesting logs of six different sizes. These 

 logs certainly offer the closest approximation to 

 natural nesting sites that can be produced, and 

 birds take to them with confidence. It has been 

 found, however, that in many cases artificial 

 houses have proved even more satisfactory. 



Of structures of the usual bird house type, 

 there is an endless variety. Only the bounds 

 of mechanical possibility limit their range, and 

 many ingenious ideas have been worked out. 

 But it must be noted that simplicity should be 

 the keynote, for plainness is far more likely 

 than the most decorative productions to prove 

 attractive to birds. 



Practically all of the manufacturers of bird 

 a])pliances offer birdhouses of many styles. The 

 plain brown bluebird and wren boxes of the 

 Jacobs Bird House Co., have much to commend 

 them. The Farley & Loetscher Mfg. Co. makes 

 very cheap but practical little houses which are 

 well adapted to meet the needs of birds. Tiny 

 cylinders of roofing material, made to represent 

 miniature logs, are made by Winthrop Packard. 

 Canton, Mass. They are well able to withstand 

 the effects of weather, if not too much exposed 

 to the sun, and are said to be used freely by 

 birds. The wren, chickadee, bluebird, titmouse 

 .'ind woodpecker houses, made by Louis Kuertz, 

 Loveland, Ohio, are very attractive from a dec- 

 orative point of view, and still retain the essen- 

 tials of practicability. 



The birds which are likely to occupy houses 

 in the vicinity of New York are the following: 



Bluebird, crested flycatcher, purple martin, tree 

 swallow, chickadee, flicker, house wren, starling, 

 European sparrow, sparrow hawk, screech owl 

 and possibly also the nuthatch, Carolina wren, 

 tufted titmouse and downy woodpecker. Robins 

 and phoebes will nest on open shelves, which 

 can be provided with a rim to hold the nest and 

 a simple roof for shelter. Starlings and spar- 

 rows, unfortunately, nest in holes, and their 

 pugnacious dispositions are too much for the 

 smaller native birds. The bluebird can be pro- 

 tected from the starling by making the entrance 

 holes one and one-half inches in diameter, which 

 is too small for the latter. It will not, however, 

 exclude the sparrow. Martins like entrance holes 

 at least two inches in diameter, but can squeeze 

 through one and one-half if they will. Chicka- 

 dees and wrens are protected by holes seven- 

 eighths to one and one-eighth in diameter. 



Some discrimination must be exercised in 

 placing boxes according to the habits of the 

 birds they are expected to attract. Bluebirds 

 are most likely to nest in an orchard, or rough 

 pasture, although they will often come close to 

 houses. This applies also to flickers, crested 

 flycatchers and chickadees. Wrens will nest in 

 boxes attached to buildings, or placed on poles 

 nearby. Tree swallows will occupy boxes a few 

 feet above the ground, on poles, especially where 

 it is marshy, and martin houses should always 

 be entirely in the open, well away from trees. 

 In general, boxes should be placed from six to 

 twenty feet from the ground, and those on poles 

 or in isolated trees are more likely to be occu- 

 pied than those situated in thick woods. 



AMBITIOUS WILD GEESE. 



OF late years, much time and energy have 

 been expended in the attempt to systema- 

 tize the propagation of game birds. Some 

 s)3ecies have been found readily adaptable to 

 the conditions of the game farm, but others 

 have not proved susceptible to the efforts of the 

 experimenter. 



Wild geese fall, decidedly, in the latter class. 

 There are no American, and few European 

 records of the successful breeding of any native 

 species, with the exception of one — the Canada 

 goose. This fine bird reverses every tradition 

 of the habits of wild geese in captivity and 

 under suitable conditions is no more difficult to 

 breed than the barn-yard varieties. It is only 

 necessary to provide a mated pair of mature 

 age with an acceptable nesting site, plenty of 

 grazing ground and freedom from disturbance, 



