with further reference to the drawings , the bird nesting habitat of the present invention , indicated generally at 10 , includes an outer foliage vessel or container 11 and an inner nesting chamber 12 . the outer vessel or container can be of any suitable configuration but should be at least ten or twelve inches across . plastic hanging baskets having a diameter in this range have been found to be suitable for this purpose . if a hanging basket is used , then a plurality of hanger supports 13 are attached to the outer vessel with a hanger hook 14 being provided at the apex thereof so that the entire habitat can be hung from any suitable hook , bar , or other suitable means ( not shown ). between the outer vessel or container 11 and the inner nesting chamber 12 is a foliage support material 15 . this material can be potting soil or other suitable material when the foliage 16 is live or can be one or more pieces of florist oasis which is precut for the purpose when either dried , artificial or cut foliage is used . in the case of the latter , water , of course , would be applied to the oasis material to keep the cut foliage alive longer or in some cases even to root the same . whether either live , cut , dried or artificial foliage or a combination thereof is used , the same should be relatively thick and certainly not spriggy . this foliage should be disposed on all sides of the nesting chamber 12 and should even form a foliage canopy thereover . in other words adequate foliage should be used to give the birds a sense of security and yet not so thick as to prevent ready ingress and regress therethrough to the nesting chamber . as the nesting habitat is being formed , it quickly becomes obvious to the person preparing the same when the correct density of foliage has been achieved . the nesting chamber 12 can be formed from any suitable material . if other than dried oasis with dried or artificial foliage is used , the chamber should be waterproof to prevent moisture from penetrating into the central nesting area 17 . various types of plastic and similar materials are , of course , suitable for this purpose . since carolina wrens are relatively small birds , a nesting chamber of two and a half to four inches in diameter is preferable . the chamber may be open at the top , or , in a situation where exposed to wind - blown rain , a small box , or a gourd with a side - opening entrance would be preferred . since carolina wrens in the mid - atlantic states begin looking for nesting areas in late february or early march , evergreens or other cold resistant foliage should be used when preparing the habitat with live foliage . since carolina wrens usually raise more than one brood per year , as the weather warms additional habitats can be put out with warm weather foliage being included therein . it has been found that a mixture of different types of live foliage is acceptable in the habitat as well as a mixture of artificial and / or dried foliage . all of the same type of foliage , of course , also works well . from the above it can be seen that the present invention has the advantage of providing a relatively inexpensive , attractive nesting habitat for the small , interesting - to - watch , pleasant sounding carolina wren . these habitats are highly efficient in attracting wrens and can be disposed under any suitable overhang . the present invention can , of course , be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention . the present embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein .
this invention is a bird nesting chamber disposed within an outer vessel which contains either live , dried or artificial foliage . the bird enters the nesting area through the foliage thereby providing a safe habitat for raising its young .