4 
US.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
609 
Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey, Henry W. Henshaw, Chief. 
September 11, 1914. 
BIRD HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM, 
By Ned Dearborn, 
Assistant Biologist. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Birds may be gathered about us in all seasons of the year with 
ease and certainty merely by offering what they desire. In winter 
they are often pushed for food, and if we supply this need they will 
report daily at the lunch counter and help to relieve the tedium 
of our indoor life. In summer they care less for food provided by 
their human friends, and other means must be sought to attract them 
about the home. They appreciate fresh water for bathing and 
drinking. A shallow pool of varying depth, if only a foot across, 
becomes on hot days a center of attraction for all the birds in the 
™inity, and it may be made with little effort and material; only a 
small amount of cement is required, or, if that be lacking, a pan with 
stones in it set in the ground will be equally serviceable. Trees, 
shrubs, and vines bearing fruit relished by birds are great attractions 
in their season.^ 
Birds are desirable about premises not only on account of their 
beauty and song, but because of their economic worth. They are 
especially useful as insect destroyers during the breeding period, 
when they have to work early and late to obtain sufficient food 
for their nestlings, and their movements at this time are more in¬ 
teresting than during any other season. There is, therefore, a double 
purpose m offering them special nesting facilities. If mud is available, 
swallows, robins, and phoebes will found and wall their nests vdth it. 
If we put out feathers, bits of wool, or twine, a dozen different kinds 
of birds "will make use of them. If we furnish safe retreats in 
which they can rear their young comfortably, most of them will be 
I occupied. In fact no attraction for summer birds is more effectual 
i ' See U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1909, pp. 185-196, “Plants Useful to Attract Birds and Protect Fruit,” 
by W. L. McAtee (Yearbook Separate 504.) 
Note. —This bulletin is intended to encourage the protection and study of birds; it is suitable for distri¬ 
bution in all sections of the United States. 
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51982°—Bull. 609—14- 
