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TheBusyFeeder

Bird houses for feeder birds

Eight of the 27 birds in our seed chart have a nest box design from Cornell’s NestWatch: the Eastern Bluebird, both chickadees, the Tufted Titmouse, both nuthatches, the Northern Flicker and the Carolina Wren. The hole sets who a box is for: 1⅛ in for chickadees, 1¼ in for titmice and nuthatches, 1½ in for bluebirds, 2½ in for flickers. Cardinals, finches, sparrows and most other feeder birds build open nests, and the smaller woodpeckers dig their own holes, so no box size is given for them here.

Which box for your bird?

An example to start from: the Eastern Bluebird. Pick a bird from your feeder to see its box.

Eastern Bluebird

Drawn to scale from NestWatch’s measurements, inside sizes in inches. The hole’s height above the floor is not in our sources, so it is not measured here: take it from NestWatch’s plan.
Inside floor
5½ × 5½ in
Inside depth
9 in
Entrance
1½ in round, or an upright oval 1⅜ in wide by 2¼ in high
Hole height above the floor
Not in our sources: take it from NestWatch’s plan
Walls
Untreated pine, cedar or fir, at least ¾ in thick
Bedding
None given
Where
Open ground: grassland or open woodland
Mount
On a pole, 4 to 6 ft up
Facing
East
Spacing
300 ft between boxes for this bird

Get these right

  • The oval is 2¼ in high but only 1⅜ in wide. Do not read 2¼ in as the size of a round hole.
  • NestWatch’s bluebird page gives 4 to 6 ft; its placement table allows 3 to 6 ft.

NestWatch’s plan for the Eastern Bluebird box ↗

Bluebird houses

1½ in round is NestWatch’s size for the Eastern Bluebird. Check the inside too: 5½ × 5½ in floor and 9 in deep.

The boxes side by side, to scale

The nest boxes for feeder birds, drawn to one scaleFour box shapes from the front, drawn to the same scale with each one's inside depth: Chickadee, titmouse, nuthatch, 8 in deep, 1⅛ or 1¼ in hole; Bluebird, 9 in deep, 1½ in hole or oval; Carolina wren, 7 in deep, 5 × 2½ in slot; Northern flicker, 24 in deep, 2½ in hole. The flicker's box is three times as deep as the chickadee's.8 inChickadee,titmouse, nuthatch1⅛ or 1¼ in hole9 inBluebird1½ in hole or oval7 inCarolina wren5 × 2½ in slot24 inNorthern flicker2½ in hole
Four box shapes from the front, drawn to the same scale with each one's inside depth: Chickadee, titmouse, nuthatch, 8 in deep, 1⅛ or 1¼ in hole; Bluebird, 9 in deep, 1½ in hole or oval; Carolina wren, 7 in deep, 5 × 2½ in slot; Northern flicker, 24 in deep, 2½ in hole. The flicker's box is three times as deep as the chickadee's.

Every feeder bird and its nest

Which of the 27 feeder birds have a nest box design
BirdNest boxMore
Eastern Bluebird5½ × 5½ in floor, 9 in deep, a 1½ in hole or a 1⅜ × 2¼ in ovalBluebird houses
Black-capped Chickadee5½ × 5½ in floor, 8 in deep, a 1⅛ in holeChickadee, titmouse and nuthatch houses
Carolina Chickadee5½ × 5½ in floor, 8 in deep, a 1⅛ in holeChickadee, titmouse and nuthatch houses
Tufted Titmouse5½ × 5½ in floor, 8 in deep, a 1¼ in holeChickadee, titmouse and nuthatch houses
White-breasted Nuthatch5½ × 5½ in floor, 8 in deep, a 1¼ in holeChickadee, titmouse and nuthatch houses
Red-breasted Nuthatch5½ × 5½ in floor, 8 in deep, a 1¼ in holeChickadee, titmouse and nuthatch houses
Carolina Wren5 × 6½ in floor, 7 in deep, a 5 × 2½ in slotCarolina wren houses
Northern Flicker7¼ × 7¼ in floor, 24 in deep, a 2½ in holeWoodpecker houses
Downy WoodpeckerDigs its own nest hole in a tree, usually in dead wood. Our sources give no box for it.Woodpecker houses
Red-bellied WoodpeckerDigs its own nest hole in a tree, usually in dead wood. Our sources give no box for it.Woodpecker houses
Hairy WoodpeckerDigs its own nest hole in a tree, usually in dead wood. Our sources give no box for it.Woodpecker houses
American GoldfinchBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
House FinchBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Song SparrowBuilds an open nest on or near the ground. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Dark-eyed JuncoBuilds an open nest on or near the ground. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Mourning DoveBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Blue JayBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Northern CardinalBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
White-throated SparrowBuilds an open nest on or near the ground. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Eastern TowheeBuilds an open nest on or near the ground. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Pine SiskinBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Purple FinchBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Red-winged BlackbirdBuilds an open nest low in marsh plants or shrubs. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Common GrackleBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Anna's HummingbirdBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Ruby-throated HummingbirdBuilds an open nest in a tree or shrub. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food
Baltimore OrioleWeaves a hanging nest near the end of a branch. Our sources give no box for it.Native plants for nesting and food

Check a bird house before you buy it

A box sold as a bird house can be the wrong size for every bird on this page, or made to look at rather than to nest in. Hold it up against the design for your bird, then look at how it is made:

  1. The hole, measured across, is the size the design gives for your bird. An oval or a slot is not the same as a round hole of similar size.
  2. The inside floor and depth match the design. Measure inside the box, not outside.
  3. Untreated pine, cedar or fir, at least ¾ in thick (1½ in for a flicker box).
  4. A roof that overhangs the front by 2 to 4 in and the sides by 2 in.
  5. A floor set at least ¼ in up inside the walls, with at least four drain holes ⅜ to ½ in across.
  6. Two vent holes, ⅝ in across, in each side wall.
  7. No perch outside the hole, and a rough inside wall below it so the young can climb out.
  8. A side or front that opens on a hinge, with a latch that holds, so the box can be checked and cleaned.

This guide names no store-bought box: none has been checked against these designs, so measure the one in front of you.

Where to put it

Each design comes with its own height, direction, setting and spacing. The placement guide sets them side by side, with the pole and baffle that keep climbing predators off.

Where to put a bird house

Cleaning and checking

Leave a box alone while it may be in use. Once nesting is over and the box is empty, take out the old nest and scrub it. NestWatch’s bluebird page also suggests taking the old nest out after each brood.

Cleaning a bird house

A nest box, a roost box and a house feeder

A nest box is where a pair raises its young. A roost box, where birds shelter on winter nights, is a different job, and this guide does not cover it. A house feeder is a feeder shaped like a house: it holds seed and is not for nesting.

NestWatch notes that a White-breasted Nuthatch may sleep in a nest box in winter. Roosting there is not nesting.

What the drawings show

The drawings are ours, made from NestWatch’s measurements and drawn to one scale: the inside floor, the inside depth and the hole. They are not building plans. The hole’s height above the floor and a cut list for each board are not in our sources, so take those from NestWatch’s own plan for the box.

NestWatch: nest box placement table

References

Sources supporting this guide
Source
NestWatch: Eastern Bluebird nest box ↗
NestWatch: Black-capped Chickadee nest box ↗
NestWatch: Carolina Chickadee nest box ↗
NestWatch: Tufted Titmouse nest box ↗
NestWatch: White-breasted Nuthatch nest box ↗
NestWatch: Red-breasted Nuthatch nest box ↗
NestWatch: Northern Flicker nest box ↗
NestWatch: Carolina Wren nest box ↗
NestWatch: nest box placement table ↗
NestWatch: features of a good birdhouse ↗
NestWatch: dealing with predators ↗
NestWatch: what to do with the nest after the birds fledge ↗
NestWatch: should I clean out my nest box? ↗
NestWatch: code of conduct for nest monitoring ↗