Cavity Nesting Birds

Abstract

Many species of cavity-nesting birds have declined because of habitat reduction. In the eastern United States, where primeval forests are gone, purple martins depend almost entirely on man-made nesting structures (Allen and Nice 1952). The hole-nesting population of peregrine falcons disappeared with the felling of the giant trees upon which they depended (Hickey and Anderson 1969). The ivory-billed and red-cockaded woodpeckers are currently on the endangered list, primarily as a result of habitat destruction (Givens 1971 , Bent 1939). The wood duck was very scarce in many portions of its range, at least in part, for the same reason and probably owes its present status to provision of nest boxes and protection from overhunting.