460 
NEST BOXES FOR BIRDS. 
BY 
S. H. Pratmr, C.M.Z.S. 
WITH 4 NoTE BY H. Wuisttsr, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., C.F.A.0.U. 
3 (With 2 plates.) 
The following letter was received from Mr. H. Whistler on the subject of 
** Nest boxes for Birds, ’’ Mr. Whistler writes :— 
‘*Have any of our members 
‘‘attempted to do anything in 
** India in the direction of putting 
** up nesting boxes for wild birds ? 
‘© It is a common practice in 
*‘ England and is there usually 
*‘attended with much success, 
‘and there seems no reason why 
*‘the same thing should not be 
«done in this country, in the 
«hills at any rate. Some years 
‘*ago I put up a few boxes in my 
*‘ garden at Rawalpindi but the 
** boxes were not very carefully 
**made and were only used by 
‘*Mynahs. A pair of Rollers 
‘**made great endeavours to 
A TRANSPORTED NESTING SITE IN A ‘* adopt one box but it was mani- 
‘‘festly too small for them. I 
«*cannot however help thinking 
‘that in the plains such nest boxes would suffer rather heavily from the 
‘multitude of squirrels, lizards, and similar pests that destroy so many nests: 
‘‘in normal situations. 
** In the hills nest boxes should be more successful: there are a larger 
**number of small and interesting species likely to adopt them, and at the 
*‘ same time their list of natural enemies should be smaller. Being this year, 
‘** for the first time with a settled house in the hills, in Lower Dharmsala, I 
** made an experimental start. 
‘* Thirteen boxes in all were prepared ; one of these was an ordinary packing 
“case, boarded up with a small square entrance, and intended really for owls. 
“ The other twelve were small square Martini-Henry ammunition boxes with a 
** small circular hole in the lid which was screwed down only lightly to admit of 
** opening and examination. These boxes were affixed to small cross pieces of 
‘* board so that they might be tied in a sideways position to the trunks of trees. 
** The boxes were placed in 3 localities ; the packing case and 4 ammunition 
** boxes were put up in my garden at 4,000 feet altitude? The remainder were 
** placed in two patches one at 5,000 feet and the other at about 9,000 feet. 
** These last two groups were however not under my personal surveillance and 
**no success was reported from them. This may have been due to faulty 
‘** administration or to the fact that both batches were in oak forest (Quercus 
** incanus, Q. semicarpofoliata) ; such oaks provide a multitude of natural nesting 
** sites much in excess of the number of birds likely to want them. 
‘The boxes in my garden were sufficiently successful to shew that much 
«* might be done in this line. I was away on tour from 10th May to 10th July 
«‘ and was therefore unable to watch the results properly but the following use 
Knot Hous, 
