Seed feeding device for birds

Claim 1

A seed feeding device for birds comprising a housing having an opening trough one side thereof, the said device comprising; a storage enclosure vertically disposed in the upper part of said housing and away from said side provided with said opening, the said enclosure having an open ended bottom and adapted to contain a relatively large amount of seeds, a trough located below said open ended bottom and at about the level of said opening, the said trough comprising a bottom plate slopingly disposed downwardly in the direction of said opening, the said plate covering the said open ended bottom to close the latter and to leave a narrow aperture in a vertical plane along the lower edge of the bottom of the storage enclosure adjacent the said opening, the said plate extending downwardly beyond the enclosure, an upwaRdly extending wall secured along the lower edge of said plate to close the said trough, the upper edge of said wall being at a higher level then the upper edge of said narrow aperture, the distance between the said wall of the trough and the said open ended bottom being adapted to accommodate the head of the bird to reach for the seeds in the trough, a perch fixed to said housing and positioned between said wall and the side provided with said opening for receiving the bird in a standing position and allowing the latter to feed itself in the trough, a waste plate fixed to said housing below the perch between the said wall and the side provided with the said opening for receiving bird droppings and waste food droppings, the said waste plate being inclined in the direction of the trough, and collecting means in the lower part of the said housing and below said waste plate for receiving the said droppings sliding down the said inclined plate, whereby the seeds located in the storage enclosure are supported by the sloping plate of the trough and slide toward the narrow aperture between said plate of the trough and the storage enclosure for slowly and continuously replenishing the lower portion of the trough with seeds, the bird standing on the perch and facing the trough being positioned to retrieve seeds between the front wall and the lower part of the storage enclosure, the waste plate slopingly disposed below the perch being adapted to receive the droppings and to allow them to slide in the waste collecting means.