Habitat Requirements
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The table provides a concise description of nesting and habitat requirements for cavity-nesting birds, along with links to their species accounts.
| Species | Nesting Habitat | Box Height |
Hole Size | Minimum Spacing |
| American Kestrel | pastures, fields, meadows, or orchards with mowed or grazed vegetation; place boxes on lone trees in fields, on trees along edges of woodlots, and on farm buildings | 10-30 feet | 3" diameter | 1/2 of a mile |
| Ash-throated Flycatcher | chaparral, mesquite thickets, oak scrub, dry plains spotted with trees or cacti, deserts, and open deciduous and riparian woodlands | 3-20 feet | 1 9/16" round | 200 feet |
| Barn Owl | prefer open areas like fields, deserts and marshes which are in close proximity to hollow trees, cliffs, riverbanks, or man-made structures, including barns, bridges and other accessible sites, and which support healthy rodent populations. | 20-25 feet | 6" round | 100 feet |
| Black-capped Chickadee | forests, woodlots, and yards with mature hardwood trees, forest edges, meadows, area should receive 40-60% sunlight, hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1" wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8" round | 1 box per 10 acres |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | open stands of pine-hardwood forests, clearings scattered with dead trees, forest edges, burned areas, cypress swamps | 5-20 feet | 1 1/4" round | 1 box per 6 acres |
| Carolina Chickadee | forests, woodlots, and yards with mature hardwood trees, forest edges, meadows, area should receive 40-60% sunlight, hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1" wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8" round | 1 box per 10 acres |
| Carolina Wren | forests with thick underbrush, forest edges, woodland clearings, open forests, shrub lands, suburban gardens, parks, backyards; near trees or tall shrubs | 5-10 feet | 1 1/2" round | 200 feet |
| Chestnut-backed Chickadee | coniferous forests, mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, forest edges, woodlands, thickets, burned areas, often near streams; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1" wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8" round | 160 feet |
| Common Goldeneye | breeding habitat is limited to aquatic areas with dead trees, in boreal, deciduous, aspen and montane woods; favor calm, large, clear lakes without much vegetation or fish | 20-30 feet | 3"high x 4" wide | 2/3 of a mile |
| Eastern Bluebird | open field or lawn; orchards; open, rural country with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover; Mountain and Western bluebirds will also use deciduous and coniferous forest edges; entrance hole should face open field, preferring east, north, south, and then west facing directions | 3-6 feet | 1 1/2" diameter | 300 feet |
| Eastern Screech Owl | forests, parks, woodland clearings, forest edges, wooded stream edges, under a tree limb. Add 2"-3" of wood shavings | 10-30 feet | 3" round; north facing | 100 feet |
| European Starling | habitat generalists, nesting in areas ranging from rural and agricultural to suburban and urban areas, but they avoid heavily wooded, mountainous, and arid regions. | providing nest boxes is discouraged for this species | can squeeze through holes with 1 9/16" diameter | 5 feet |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, forest edges, woodlots, orchards, parks, on post or tree at forest edge | 3-20 feet | 1 9/16" round | 1 box per 6 acres |
| Hooded Merganser | quiet, shallow, clear water pools surrounded by or near the edge of deciduous woods: small forest pools, ponds, swamps; add 3" of wood shavings; add ladder under inside of entrance hole for young to climb out | 6-25 feet | 3" high by 4" wide horizontal oval | 3 miles |
| House Sparrow | agricultural, suburban, and urban areas; tend to avoid woodlands, forests, grasslands, and deserts | providing nest boxes is discouraged for this species | can fit through holes with 1 1/2" diameter | Variable |
| House Wren | variety of habitats, farmland, openings, open forests, forest edges, shrub lands, suburban gardens, parks, backyards; near trees or tall shrubs | 5-10 feet | 1 1/4" round | 50 feet |
| Mountain Bluebird | open field or lawn; orchards; open, rural country with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover; Mountain and Western bluebirds will also use deciduous and coniferous forest edges; entrance hole should face open field, preferring east, north, south, and then west facing directions | 3-6 feet | 1 9/16" diameter | 300 feet |
| Mountain Chickadee | coniferous forests, forest edges, woodland clearings; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1" wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/8" round | 1 box per 10 acres |
| Northern Flicker | pastures, groves, woodlots, orchards, fields, meadows, woodland clearings, forest edges, urban parks, on pole or tree at forest edge or along fence rows bordering crop fields; box should be completely filled with wood chips or shavings | 6-30 feet | 2 1/2" round; southeast facing | 200 feet |
| Prothonotary Warbler | lowland hardwood forests subject to flooding, stagnant water, swamps, ponds, marshes, streams, flooded river valleys, wet bottomlands; box should be over or near water | 4-12 feet | 1 1/4" round | 300 feet |
| Purple Martin | broad open areas (meadows, fields, farmland, swamps, ponds, lakes, rivers) with unobstructed space for foraging on flying insects; there should be no trees or buildings within 40 feet of the martin pole in any direction; houses should be painted white | 10-15 feet | 2 1/8" round | 100 feet |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, shrub lands, swamps, farmlands, suburban parks; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1" wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-15 feet | 1 1/4" round | 1 box per 7 acres |
| Tree Swallow | open fields near water, expansive open areas, marshes, meadows, wooded swamps; on a post in open areas near tree or fence | 5-15 feet | 1 3/8" round east facing | 30-100 feet |
| Tufted Titmouse | deciduous forest, thick timber stands, woodland clearings, forest edges, woodlots, riparian and mesquite habitats; spaced one box per 8 acres, hole should face away from prevailing wind | 5-15 feet | 1 1/4" round | 1 box per 8 acres |
| Violet-green Swallow | open or broken deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, wooded canyons, edges of dense forest | 9-15 feet | 1 3/8" round | 30-100 feet |
| Western Bluebird | open field or lawn; orchards; open, rural country with scattered trees and low or sparse ground cover; Mountain and Western bluebirds will also use deciduous and coniferous forest edges; entrance hole should face open field, preferring east, north, south, and then west facing directions | 3-6 feet | 1 1/2" diameter | 300 feet |
| Western Screech Owl | lower elevations, forests, parks, woodland clearings, forest edges, deserts, wooded stream edges, under a tree limb. Add 2"-3" of wood shavings | 10-30 feet | 3" round; north facing | 1000 feet |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | deciduous woodlands, mature forests, woodlots, near open areas, forest edges, orchards, often near water; hole should face away from prevailing wind; 1" wood shavings can be placed in box | 5-20 feet | 1 3/8" round | 1 box per 25 acres |
| Wood Duck | forested wetlands or near marshes, swamps, and beaver ponds; place boxes in deciduous trees, 30-100 feet from the nearest water | 6-30 feet | 4" wide, 3" high | 600 feet |