76- Bird Day Book 



are still found. Unfortunately, they are comparatively rare in con- 

 trast with their former numbers. Tree or white-bellied swallows 

 sometimes occupy the more elaborate boxes, but have a much 

 stronger preference for the more natural cavity in the limb of a 

 tree than do most species. The crested flycatcher has nested in such 

 natural cavities, near houses, though normally a rather retiring bird. 

 The possibility of this bird for a neighbor is well worth providing 

 attractions in the shape of alluring cavities. Should a pair of these 

 birds accept such a site they must not be too much troubled by 

 attentions until the eggs are hatched. In suitable spots the chickadee 

 may avail himself of a well-chosen natural cavity provided for his 

 accommodation. The flicker is sometimes not averse to accepting a 

 ready-constructed home. Finally, in the orchard it may be possible 

 to have a screech owl for a tenant, and be assured he is in every way 

 a tenant worth having. As a mouse and rat trap he is far superior 

 to the house cat, and if his vocal efforts are not musical, it at least 

 has range and expression. 



Screech owls, bluebirds and chickadees are for the most part 

 resident throughout the year. All of them are most apt to frequent 

 the neighborhood of our homes in search of food in winter, therefore 

 winter is the time to get the tenant house into place. The birds are 

 not slow to avail themselves of such shelters as roosting places from 

 cold and inclement weather. Becoming acquainted with the advan- 

 tages of these sites in winter, it is quite natural for the birds in the 

 spring to bring their mates thither, and there establish their summer 

 home. 



The most natural bird homes, and such as may c^ften be pro- 

 vided with the least trouble, are pieces of hollow limbs or small hol- 

 low trunks of trees, or the old nesting holes of woodpeckers. If no 

 limbs with suitable cavities are found, they may be made by taking 

 a piece of a limb, about eight inches in diameter and fourteen to 

 sixteen inches long, dividing it in half, with a rip saw, from one end 

 to within about three inches of the other, where it is met by a 

 right-angle cut from the side. At this point an entrance hole is made 

 through the shorter or front half. The two halves are then 

 hollowed out so as to form a cylindrical cavity about three and one- 

 half inches in diameter, and ten inches deep, when the two halves 

 are placed together and wired. It has this advantage that if a young 



