ALBERT F. SIEPERT, B.S.

Professor of Manual Arts, Bradley Polytechnic Institute
Editor, Shop Problems Series (on tracing paper)
Editor, Shop Notes and Problems Department of
Manual Training Magazine

THE MANUAL ARTS PRESS

PEORIA, ILLINOIS

Copyright 1916
The Manual Arts Press
Fourth Edition, 1919

FOREWORD.

Years ago a country boy heard or read that if a simple box having a hole of a certain size were set upon a post in March or early April it would not be long before bluebirds would be around to see if the place would do as a summer cottage. So he took an old paint keg such as white lead is sold in, nailed a cover across the top, cut an opening in the side and then placed it on a post ten or twelve feet high. Only a day or two passed before a soft call-note was heard, a flash of blue, and the songster had arrived. His mate came a few days later and the paint keg with its tenants became the center of interest in my life. A second brood was reared in midsummer and when the cool days of September came a fine flock left for the South. Each year the house was occupied until the post decayed and the paint keg fell down, but in memory the sad call-note is still heard when spring comes, for it is house hunting time once more, and the bluebirds are looking for the home they had known.

That boys elsewhere may know the joy of the companionship of birds, this little book is written. Birds will come and live near the houses of men whenever food and water are to be had, safety from enemies is given, and when homes are built for them to replace the shelters nature offered before men came with their cultivated fields and crowded cities. The following pages give pictures and drawings of houses that boys have built and in which birds have lived. These houses are planned for the species of birds that have become accustomed to civilization so that they will inhabit the houses put up for them.

The author is indebted to Professor Chas. A. Bennett of Bradley Institute and Mr. L. L. Simpson of The Manual Arts Press for helpful suggestions and encouragement; to John Friese for making the drawings; and to the following for the use of the originals of the illustrations which tell most of the story.

Edward G. Anderson, Seattle, Wash. Figs. [32], [33], [34], [36], [39], [54], [55], [56], [57].

Frank H. Ball, Pittsburgh, Pa. Figs. [12], [29], [45], [66], [67].

Leon H. Baxter, St. Johnsbury, Vt. Figs. [21], [22].

F. D. Crawshaw, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Figs. [11], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44].

Donald V. Ferguson, St. Paul, Minn. Figs. [9], [28], [38], [62].

Geo. G. Grimm, Baltimore, Md. Fig. [14].

C. M. Hunt, Milton, Mass. Figs. [46], [52].

H. A. Hutchins, Cleveland, O. Figs. [15], [16], [17], [18], [19].

Elmer Knutson, St. Cloud, Minn. Figs. [30], [31].

National Association of Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Figs. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8].

Chas. Tesch, Milwaukee, Wis. Fig. [64].

The Crescent Co., Toms River, N. J. Figs. [35], [49], [50].

United States Department of Agriculture Bulletins; Figs. [20], [51], [65].

Youths Companion, Perry Mason Co., Boston, Mass. Figs. [58], [59], [60], [61].

Albert F. Siepert.

Peoria, Ill., March, 1916.

CONTENTS

PAGE.
Birds That Live in Nesting Boxes[7]
Bluebird—robin—chickadee—wren—house
finch—woodpecker—flicker—martin
Construction of Bird Houses[15]
Dimensions of nesting boxes—houses of sawed
lumber—rustic houses—cement and stucco houses
Placing Houses[36]
Feeding Shelves and Shelters[37]
Foods
Bird Baths[48]
Bird Enemies[51]
Men—ants and vermin—English or house
sparrow—sparrow traps
Bird House Exhibitions[54]
Bibliography[57]
Bird and bird house literature
Index[59]

BIRDS THAT LIVE IN NESTING BOXES.

Certain varieties of birds will nest in homes built for them if these houses are of the right shape and dimensions. Other birds may be just as desirable but do not build nests and rear their young in boy-made nesting boxes. We are therefore mainly concerned with the first group which select cavities in trees for their homes if nothing better is to be found.

FIG. 1. BLUE BIRDS, ADULTS AND YOUNG BIRD.

BLUEBIRD.

This bird may be found during the summer months in most of the states east of the Rocky Mountains, Figs. [1] and [59]. It spends its winter in the southern states and southward, returning north in March and April. The principal items of food are grasshoppers, caterpillars and beetles. It should have a house measuring about 5" in length and width, inside measurements, and 8" or more in depth. The entrance hole should be 1-1/2" in diameter and placed near the top, so that the young birds cannot get out until strong enough to have some chance of escape from their enemies after they leave the nest. While authorities differ as to the need of cleaning after a season's use, it seems wise to provide the house with some device whereby the bottom may be removed for such purposes. Houses for this species are shown in Figs. [11], [21], [22] and [24].

FIG. 2.

ROBIN.

Robins usually announce the coming of spring when they return to their breeding grounds in the northern states, where they are general favorites. Figs. [2] and [60]. The nest is usually built of mud and lined with grasses; placed in the fork of a tree or on some sheltered ledge. Robins take kindly to nesting shelves put up for them and it is well to put up several since but one brood is reared in each nest built. This old nest should be removed after the young birds have gone. A simple shelf is shown in the lower left hand corner of the photograph, Fig. [24], as well as in Figs. [20] and [49].

FIG. 3.

CHICKADEE.

The chickadee is one of the brave little spirits who spends the entire winter with us, Fig. [3]. We can be of considerable service to him during the cold weather by providing food shelters. During the summer months his home is usually found in some decaying stump, hence nesting boxes of the rustic type placed in some remote spot of the orchard or park are most attractive to him.

WREN.

When all other song birds fail to take advantage of a house built for them, the wren may still be counted on. Almost any sort of home from a tin can or hollow gourd on up is satisfactory if put in a safe place and provided with an opening 1" or slightly less in diameter, so the sparrows must stay out, Figs. [4] and [5]. Good homes are shown in Figs. [10], [14], [15], [16] and others.

FIG. 4. WREN AND RUSTIC HOUSE.

HOUSE FINCH.

The house finch has made many enemies because of its fondness for cultivated fruits and berries. However, it has some redeeming features in its song and beauty. The nest is usually placed in the fork of a limb—evergreens being favorite nesting places. The house shown in Fig. [51] is suitable for these birds but is also acceptable to wrens.

FIG. 5. WRENS.

FIG. 6. FLICKER.

WOODPECKER.

The favorite of this interesting family is the little downy, Fig. [7]. Living largely upon harmful grubs and insects, this bird does an immense amount of good by protecting our forests from insect scourges. Woodpeckers do not build nests as most birds do, but excavate a deep cavity in some dead tree leaving a quantity of chips at the bottom on which the eggs are laid. Nesting boxes should be of the rustic type made as shown in Fig. [12], leaving some sawdust mixed with a little earth in the cavity. These houses should be placed on trees in a park or orchard. Boys should be able to tell the difference between the woodpeckers beneficial to man and the sapsucker whose misdeeds often cause considerable damage to fruit trees. A nuthatch is also seen in Fig. [7] enjoying a meal of sunflower seed.

FIG. 7. DOWNY WOODPECKER (ABOVE) NUTHATCH (BELOW).

FLICKER.

The flickers spend much of their time on the ground in search of ants which form the larger percentage of their food. Since ants sometimes cause considerable trouble for other birds, a pair of flickers are worth cultivating for the sake of the work they can do. Artificial nesting boxes of sufficient depth and size are quite readily used, Figs. [6], [20] and [25].

MARTIN.

Nearly everyone knows swallows of one variety or another. The most beautiful of the family are the martins, Fig. [8]. This bird is of great service against the inroads of wasps, bugs and beetles. It prefers to live in colonies even though the males fight bitterly at times. Martin houses should have at least several rooms, each separate from all the others. Houses have been built to accommodate fifty and more families. Smaller ones are shown in Figs. [8], [9], [13] and [45].

FIG. 8. A MARTIN COLONY.

FIG. 9. THE PEER GYNT COTTAGE FOR MARTINS.

Fig. [9] is a miniature reproduction of Peer Gynt's cottage for a martin house. This house was not only an attractive thing to make, but martins selected it for their home during the past summer.

CONSTRUCTION OF BIRD HOUSES.

Bird houses may be divided into three main classes: (1) those made of sawed lumber to specified dimensions; (2) the rustic type made of (a) slabs of wood with the bark left on, or (b) pieces of tree trunk, or (c) of sawed lumber trimmed with bark or twigs; and (3) cement or stucco houses. In each case the entrance should slant slightly upward to keep the rain out.

FIG. 10. WREN HOUSES.

Almost any sort of lumber may be used, but birds take most readily to that which has been weathered out of doors. A kind should be used which does not warp or check badly; white pine and cypress meet these requirements and are worked with ease. Yellow poplar is used and cedar with or without the bark left on has its friends for houses of the first or second classes.

Nesting boxes of sawed lumber should be painted on the outside to improve their appearance and to preserve them against the effect of the weather. It is often wise to leave a small amount of unpainted surface around the entrance, and all paint should be thoroughly dry before houses are expected to be occupied. Colors selected will depend somewhat upon the neighborhood, but white, grey, dull greens or browns are often used.