bird houses
Building Bird House - Box Dimensions Chart
Bird House Dimensions Chart
If you have any woodworking skills or know anyone with woodworking skills who you can talk into building bird houses (Mom, that means you) - we encourage you to do so! Buying a birdhouse is a great idea and many are very well made, but there is also no reason at all not to make your own. If you have some land with a field or the like, setting out a row of bluebird boxes for example can get costly. We have both purchased and build bird houses.
Our object here is to help you build a straight, practical bird house which will actually be used by wild birds. We have provided a list of dimensions to use with various species of north American cavity and shelf nesting birds.
Check with our Bird House Building or Buying page for basic advice, but here are a few more tips for building:
Wood Type: We use untreated cedar. It weathers well, looks natural as it weathers to the birds and offers some predator protection due to it’s more natural look. and we like the rougher texture which helps baby birds get a foothold when climbing out of the box for the first time. Pine may also be used but keep in mind that yellow pine often has pitch or resin pockets, so consider white pine.
For pole mounted bird house, use a squirrel/predator guard. Squirrel, rats, snakes and other critters will climb poles and eat eggs or baby birds. If you are building several bird houses, some metal flashing in a cone shape around the pole often does the trick. We have tried this on houses with success.
A good idea is to put a metal ring around entrance holes. Squirrels will instantly chew the daylights out of your bird house entrance hole and customize it for themselves. There are specialty bird house metal rings for sale which are specifically for woodworkers building boxes, but we have also had good luck finding metal rings in the plumbing department of the hardware store. The metal ring will keep a squirrel from chewing the wood on the side of the entrance hole.
Nest Box Dimensions
CAVITY NESTING BIRDS - will use classic bird house
Entrance Placement
Box Box height above
interior height/ above Entrance ground
floor depth floor diameter height
Species inches inches inches inches feet
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Eastern & Western
Bluebird 4x4-5x5 8-12 6-10 1-1/2 4-6
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Mountain
Bluebird 5-1/2x5-1/2 8-12 6-10 1-9/16 4-6
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Chickadees
Black Capped,
Boreal
Carolina 4x4-5x5 8-10 6-8 1-1/8 to 1-1/2 4-15
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Titmice 4x4-5x5 10-12 6-8 1-3/8 to 1-1/2 5-15
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Flycatcher
Ash-throated 5x5-6x6 8-12 6-10 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 5-15
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Flycatcher
Great
Crested 5x5-6x6 8-12 6-10 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 5-15
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Nuthatch - Brown
headed, Pygmy and
Red & white
Breasted 4x4-5x5 8-10 6-8 1-1/8 to 1-1/2 5-15
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Warbler
Prothonotary 4x4-5x5 9-12 4-5 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 4-8
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Purple
Martin 6x6 6 1-2 2-1/4 6-20
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Swallows
Tree and
Violet Green 4x4-5x5 9-12 4-6 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 5-15
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Wrens
Bewick's &
House 4x4-5x5 9-12 6-8 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 5-10
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Wren
Carolina 4x4-5x5 9-12 6-8 1-1/2 5-10
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OWLS:
Entrance Placement
Box Box height above
interior height/ above Entrance ground
floor depth floor diameter height
Species inches inches inches inches feet
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Barred Owls 13x15 15-18 4 6 12-18
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Barn Owls 16 4 8
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Screech
Owls and
Kestrel 8x8 12-15 9-12 3 10-30
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Saw-
Whet Owl 6x6 10-12 8-10 2 1/2 12-20
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WOODPECKERS:
Entrance Placement
Box Box height above
interior height/ above Entrance ground
floor depth floor diameter height
Species inches inches inches inches feet
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Downy
Woodpecker 3x3-4x4 8-10 6-8 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 5-15
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Golden Fronted
Woodpecker 6x6 12-15 9-12 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 12-20
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Hairy
Woodpecker 5x5-6x6 12-15 9-12 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 8-20
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Lewis's
Woodpecker 7x7 16-18 14-16 2-1/2 12-20
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Northern/
Common
Flicker 6x6-8x8 16-18 14-16 2-3 6-20
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Pileated
Woodpecker 8x8 16-24 12-20 3-4 15-25
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Red Bellied
Woodpecker 5x5-6x6 12-15 9-12 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 12-20
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Red Headed
Woodpecker 5x5-6x6 12-15 9-12 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 10-20
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Yellow
Bellied
Sapsucker 5x5 12-15 9-12 1-1/2 10-20
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DUCKS:
Entrance Placement
Box Box height above
interior height/ above Entrance ground
floor depth floor diameter height
Species inches inches inches inches feet
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Black-Bellied 22 front
Whistling 11x11 -20 rear 5
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Wood Ducks 10x18 10-24 12-16 4 10-20
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Bufflehead 7 dia. 16 2 7/8
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Common 3 1/2 x
Goldeneye 12x12 24 4 1/2
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Common
Merganser 11x11 34 20 4 3/4
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SHELF NESTING BIRDS:
Placement
Box Box above
interior height/ ground
floor depth height
Species inches inches feet
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American
Robin 7x8 8 6-15
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Barn
Swallow 6x6 6 8-12
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Doves,
Rock 12x12 9 12-15
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Phoebes 6x6 6 8-12
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Swallow,
Barn 6x6 6 8-12
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Osprey 48x48 platform OPEN ALL SIDES
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Red tailed
Hawk &
Great
Horned Owl 24x24 platform OPEN ALL SIDES
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