Squirrel proof shaped bird feeder with dung shield

An improved depending bird feeder container, having a dung shield suspended over the bird feeder container and having the container formed to a special shape, similar to a "bell" shaped substantially cylindrical walled housing or container of a specific minimum diameter at the top or suspended portion of the container and a flare of a minimum length. This shape defeats squirrels and similar animals from climbing down the outside of the feeder container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an improved bird feeder, and more 
particularly, however not limitatively, the present invention relates to a 
bird feeder suspended from a ground supporting pylon and having a dung 
shield disposed interposedly between the bird feeder and its connection to 
the supporting pylon. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Various prior art devices are known and bird feeding devices are 
customarily used to contain feed seeds and other food items to be made 
selectively available and accessible to birds in an attractive manner. 
Various hanging bird feeders with or without support systems have been 
found in the prior art U.S. patents and are cited below: 
______________________________________ 
Palfalvy 
4,019,462 
4,034,715 
Smith 4,242,984 
Hinz 4,570,575 
Graham 4,974,547 
______________________________________ 
None of these are of further interest to the present invention of a 
squirrel proof bird feeder 10 with a dung shield 12 supported by a pylon 
16. 
These known prior uses teach and disclose various types of bird feed 
devices of sorts and of various manufactures and the like, as well as 
methods of their construction, but none of them whether taken singly or in 
combination disclose the specific details of the combination of the 
subject invention in such a way as to bear upon the claims of the present 
invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the invention is to provide a squirrel proof bird feeder by 
providing a container with a shaped bulbous roof 24 disposed above the 
bird feeder that prevents the squirrels and other rodents from climbing 
down an outside portion of the bell-shaped construction, but which allows 
birds to use their slender beaks to enter openings or feed presenters 20 
in a lower more tapered portion of the feeder housing to get access at the 
feed. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved bird 
feeder, having an exterior shape to prevent the access to the bird feed by 
squirrels and other rodents. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved bird 
feeder having a dung shield interposed between the supporting pylon and 
the suspended bird feeder to prevent feces excreted by birds from messing 
the general external appearance of the bird feeder and which would provide 
a rough surface, effected by dried fecal matter, which would give squirrel 
and other rodents a footing at a top of the feeder, and thereby allow the 
squirrels to climb down sides of the container. 
These together with other objects and advantages which will become 
subsequently apparent reside in the details of the process and operation 
thereof as more fully hereinafter is described and claimed, reference 
being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like 
numerals refer to like parts throughout.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawings there is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 a squirrel 
or other rodent proof bird feeder 10 with a dung shield 12 arranged and 
interposedly disposed between a free end member 14 of a supporting pylon 
16 and the depending feed container 22. The bird feeder 10 is made of a 
smooth and hard surfaced material defining a small cylindrical portion 
having openings or feed presenters 20 for receipt by the birds to feed and 
at the same time preventing squirrels or rodents from achieving access to 
the feed presenters 20. 
The seed container 22 is generally bell-shaped and is positioned above the 
bird feeder 10 for providing gravity flow of seed from the seed container 
22 into the bird feeder 10 and then through an opening in a bottom wall in 
the bird feeder, and which may have a selectively closeable filler opening 
(not shown) located therein for periodic filling the seed container 22. 
An upper bulbous roof 24 of the bell-shaped construction of the seed 
container 22 has a knob member 28 for enabling a person or user of the 
bird feeder 10 to appropriately handle the filling and emptying of the 
bird feeder 10 and container 22. The knob member 28 has an opening at its 
center with an eyelet therein for receiving a strand or cable 30 there 
through for suspending the container 22 from the free end member 14 of the 
supporting pylon 16. The upper bulbous roof 24 is sized and so dimensioned 
about the shoulder 32, and extends downwardly from the shoulder 32, to a 
flare member of the bell-shaped construction of container 22, which does 
not allow the squirrel to jump the presenters 20 and hang on to knob 28 of 
the feeder. 
The bird feeder 10 and the pylon 16 with its support system of cylindrical 
sleeves 40, 42, 44 with a rectangular plate 46 is attached tangential to 
the said sleeve cylinder 42 forming part of the pylon 16, so that the 
squirrel cannot spread its claws sufficiently to use the edges of the 
plate 46. The feeder 10 typically has the plurality of transverse 
horizontal openings or presenters 20 in a wall of the feeder 10 to receive 
feed for presentation to the birds so the birds may easily obtain the 
feed, which is accomplished while the bell-shaped housing of the container 
22 prevents the squirrel or rodent from obtaining access to the feed. 
The bell-shaped construction prevents squirrels and rodents from getting to 
this feed presenter 20 by forcing the animal to loose the grip on the roof 
24 which is caused by spreading the animals feet sufficiently to cause it 
to loose its grip, and then a skirt 50 of the bell shape construction of 
the container 22 combined with gravity forces the animal to be propelled 
away from the feed area underneath and thus prevents the squirrel from 
reaching the feed presenters 20. 
The seed container 22 may be constructed from TEFLON, LUCITE, glass, 
plastic and similar kinds of material. 
Additionally the upper surface of the feeder 10 is kept clean and smooth 
and slippery by the use of the dung shield 12, which is in a form of an 
upside down "dinner plate", having circular slots 56 at the periphery of 
the plate of this dung shield 12 to provide a footing or twig member 60 
for a perch for alighting birds. The bird feeder 10 with its support 
system 40, 42, 44 has the dung shield 12 to prevent the droppings from 
birds after they fly in and land from nearby perches. This is achieved by 
providing a perch of choice close to and over the feeder 19, but not on 
the feeder 10 itself, which would allow the approaching birds to alight at 
the top feeder location as their usual practice is. By alighting on the 
dung shield 12 either facing the center or away from the center, the birds 
are prevented from messing the top and sides of the feeder 10 and seed 
container 22 by directing the excrement either outside the dung shield 12 
or on the dung shield 12 itself. 
The dung shield 12 while being similar in appearance to a concavo-convex 
dish configuration, or to substantially hemispherical squirrel guards of 
the prior art that in the past have sometimes been hung over bird feeders 
10 in a manner known in the art, is quite different in both structure and 
function from those similarly shaped items. The dung shield 12 may be made 
of or constructed of metal, ceramic, glass, plastic or other formable 
smooth semi-rigid weatherproof materials. It is shaped essentially as an 
upside down plane-convex disk shaped saucer or "dinner plate" having a 
circumference or periphery of a diameter substantially in excess of the 
size of the bird feeder 10 and its roof 24. 
Also a series of arcuate slots 56 arranged circumferentially around the 
shield 12 and disposed slightly inwardly of the edge of the shield 12 but 
disposed slightly outwardly of the diameter of the feeder skirt 50 to 
provide adequate perch means to alighting potential for the bird, and is 
configured to provide a twig or perch structure for alighting, which 
constitutes an alternate set of positions, of choice, for the bird to face 
either inwardly or outwardly. If the bird faces outwardly, droppings tend 
to land on the dung shield, or pass or excrete through slots 56 of the 
shield 12 and miss the feeder 10; if the bird faces inwardly, droppings 
are excreted beyond the dung shield 12 as well as the feeder 10. 
An underside of the dung shield 12 may have radial ribs to reinforce the 
shield for strength and keep the weight of the shield minimal, and 
preventing warpage when the shield is made of ceramics. 
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the 
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily 
occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the 
invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and 
accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to 
falling within the scope of the invention.