If you like birds and do not like to see them shut up in cages, you can still have the pleasure of watching them live in their natural state by setting up a bird-table for them.

To make a bird-table you need to long pole which is driven into the ground near a tree or shrubbery. Next you get a small box with low sides and mail it to the top of the pole to form a flat, horizontal surface for the birds to land and perch on. Some barbed wire wound round the bottom of the pole will stop cats from climbing up to the table.

What sort of food should be put on a bird-table? Breadcrumbs are not enough. There are two menus, one for birds that eat seeds and another for birds that eat insects. For the seed-eaters you need millet, barley, rice and breadcrumbs. For the insects-eater you must have far or minced meat, margarine, bread soaked in milk and bacon rind.

Perishable food such as meat, fat and milk should be changed frequently. Care should be taken not to frighten the birds because they may never come back again. Some insect-eating birds have the strange habit of eating in an upside-down position. For such birds put the food into a net which can be hung from a fence or a tree.

Birds need water to drink and to wash with and dishes of water should be put in safe positions so that the birds can splash about and enjoy themselves. Make sure you replenish the water supply every day or as often as possible. This is especially important in winter when natural supplies of water may be frozen.