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Nesting-Houses
Adaptability of Birds. — Many birds have adapted their nesting-habits, in part, at least, to the changed conditions brought about through man's agency, where the changes have not been of too radical a nature. And some, indeed, seem to prefer these new conditions to the original ones; chimney swifts have changed their nesting-sites from caves and hollow trees to chimneys; the phoebe rather prefers the beams of a shed or bridge to the cliffs, caves, and overhanging banks which probably formed its original nesting-site; the eave swallow nests under eaves as well as on cliffs; the barn swallow now nests almost entirely in barns, in preference to cliffs and caves, where it was once wont to nest; the robin frequently selects some portion of a building; the Carolina wren has been found nesting in a barn; several species quite commonly nest in artificial houses provided for them.
When the birds have shown such powers of adaptability without much effort on man's part to assist, there certainly is a large opportunity still further to draw birds around habitations, when man makes some special effort to attract them. It is the purpose of this book to render some suggestions looking toward this end. Not only may we hope to increase the number of individuals of those birds now known to nest around buildings and in bird-houses, but we may expect to domesticate other species of birds, whose nesting-habits are such that we may imitate their nesting-sites by means of artificial houses.
The birds which have been known to nest in bird-houses, as far as the author has been able to secure any records, are the following:
BIRDS USING NESTING-HOUSES
(Those marked with an asterisk use houses quite commonly).
Bluebirds : 
- Eastern (Sialia sialis).
- Western (Sialia mexicana occidentalis).
Mountain (Sialia arctica).
Chickadees :
- Black-capped (Penthestes atricapillus).
- Oregon (Penthestes atricapillus occidentalis).
Carolina (Penthestes carolinensis). Duck, Wood (Aix sponsa).
- Finch, House (Carpodacus mexicana frontalis). Flicker (Colaptes auratus luteus). Flycatcher,
Crested (Myiarchus crinitus). Hawk, Sparrow (Falco sparverius). - Martin, Purple (Progne subis). Owl, Screech (Otus asio). Robin (Planesticus migratorius).
- Sparrow, English (Passer domesticus).
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Swallows :
- Tree (Iridoprocne bicolor).
- Violet-green (Tachycineta thalassina lepidd).
Titmouse, Tufted (Baeolophus bicolor). Woodpecker, Red-headed (Melanerpes erythrocephalus).
Wrens :
- House (Troglodytes aedon).
- Parkman'g ( Troglodytes ai'don parkmanii). Bewick's (Thryomanes bewickii).
- Vigors's ( Thryomanes bewickii spilurus). Texas Bewick's (Thryomanes bewickii cryplus).
The following nest in hollow trees and so might possibly be induced to occupy nesting-houses : —
The woodpeckers, nuthatches, Carolina wren, barn owl, barred owl, and saw-whet owl.