Alabama, ipi8. 77 



bird dies, or the home becomes obstructed in any way beyond the rem- 

 edying of the tenants, the landlord may open it and rectify the trou- 

 ble. A perch is provided just below the entrance by way of a front 

 porch. A similar bird home is made by boring an augur hole from 

 one end of a piece of limb to within a couple of inches of the other, 

 plugging the bored end and making an entrance hole near the other 

 end. These nesting places are for bluebirds, house wrens, chickadees 

 and tree swallows. A little larger homes of the same type are required 

 for crested flycatchers, and decidedly larger ones for flickers. A good- 

 sized deserted flicker home or similar cavity provides a nesting site 

 to attract the screech owl. A piece of the wooden tubing from a 

 chain pump, with the ends plugged and a side entrance hole made 

 near the upper end, the tube being covered with bark, makes a 

 very good substitute for a hollow limb. Even a long, narrow box, 

 made up in about the same manner and covered with bark, answers 

 very well. If old and weather-stained boards are used, the bark 

 covering is not absolutely necessary, but it adds to the attractiveness, 

 both from the bird and the human standpoint. 



Another method of making artificial hollow limbs, which has 

 been described, is to cut limbs of the proper diameter, according to 

 the tenant for whom they are intended; saw them in sections of 

 proper length ; make an incision through the bark on one side from 

 one end to the other; on the opposite side bore a hole through the 

 bark for an entrance ; then with a wooden wedge carefully separate 

 the bark from the limb until it is entirely free. Sections of the limb 

 an inch and a half in length are sawed oflf and nailed into the ends 

 of the bark, and over the slit in the back a strip of branch or wood 

 is nailed, which in turn is nailed to the tree or other support where 

 the nesting place is to rest. Small drainage holes to allow the water 

 to escape from the bottom of any artificial nesting limbs or boxes 

 in case rain should drive in, and sloping and protecting tops to shed 

 rain, are important in all cases. Pieces of limb, natural or artificial, 

 may be wired to the trunk or branches of a shade tree, or fastened 

 on top of a post, which may be covered with growing vines, but care 

 must be taken to guard against the raids of cats and squirrels. A 

 piece of tin fastened around the trunk of the tree or the post which 

 bears the bird box, in the shape of an inverted funnel, is sometimes 

 used to prevent cats gaining access to the nest, and when the box is 



