What is a Horizontal Perch?

A horizontal perch is a wood or metal segment positioned horizontally in relation to the front wall of a birdhouse. It is a unique perch system with a base-plate, support-arm and rails that work together to support the perch.

The design is intended to encourage birds that would not otherwise use a traditional perch to use it to regularly land and roost. It is part of an effort to help birds use a swoop-path to collect food and feed their young.

A traditional perch is typically mounted perpendicular to the front wall. This discourages many birds from using it because the perch is hard to see when coming in for a landing. A bird that is in flight and flying straight toward an object that is pointing directly toward them creates a perception that the perch is much smaller than it actually is. There is no dimensional perception of "length" since the length of perch is hard to see.

The length of a horizontal perch is much easier to see since it is mounted "horizontally" instead of perpendicularly. Although birds have very good eyesight, a perpendicular perch is hard to see in relation to birds vantage point, causing the perch to appear to look smaller.

Although a horizontal perch is a man-made object, it resembles a natural branch or twig. A bird can see the entire length of the perch from a long distance and thus looks more encouraging and safer to use for a landing spot as the bird approaches.

Commonly, nesting birds will use nearby objects for roosting to scope out sources of food. Branches are often used as landing objects because they are close to a birdhouse or nest.

The horizontal perch system is a design that uses a multi-design system. The parts include a base, rails, support arm and perch.