Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Porcelain - A Worthy Bird House

At first glance, they are beautiful and unique, but a more inquisitive look reveals that these Bird Feeders are very functional as well. They are designed to attract a number of secondary cavity nesters such as Wrens, Chickadees, smaller Flycatchers and even some Warblers. The porcelain is an excellent material to help regulate the extremes of temperature and provide a durable, beautiful home for birds. The porcelain is durable enough to handle the elements from summer heat to rain and the subfreezing temperatures of a cold spring night. Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin. The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at these high temperatures. It can informally be referred to as "china" in some English-speaking countries, as China was the birth place of porcelain making. Properties associated with porcelain include low permeability and elasticity; considerable strength, hardness, glassiness, brittleness, whiteness, translucence, and resonance; and a high resistance to chemical attack and thermal shock which makes this a perfect "bird home".

1 comment:

Tommy said...

I love putting up homes for the birds around our yard. I live in a quite cold area (down to -20F on some winter nights). Will porcelain hold up to those extremes?

Thanks for the great post.

You can read more about my gardening exploits at TheGardeningEveryday.com

Tommy