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.

[Illustration: 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.

[Illustration: FIG. 5. WRENS.]

[Illustration: 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.

[Illustration: 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 hav