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.

DIMENSIONS OF NESTING BOXES.

The following table, copied from Farmers Bulletin, No. 609, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, gives in small space valuable information about dimensions that experience and investigation have indicated as good for particular varieties of birds. This list includes many varieties that do not commonly live in houses built for them, however. As time goes on, we may expect to find more of these birds living in our nesting boxes because they are apt to seek the same sort of home as the one in which they were reared. The table is given to be of service to those wishing to plan new houses not shown here.

Dimensions of nesting boxes for various species of birds.