238 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



or on the lower limbs of the tree, look about, shake him- 

 self again, and I would be disappointed, feeling sure he 

 was not going to bathe after all. Presently he would hop 

 back on the side of the trough and again begin dabbling in 

 the water. After a few moments of these preliminaries he 

 would hop oS into the trough even tho the water were five 

 or six inches deep, and fairly make it fly as he splattered 

 with his wings, ducked and dived until in a few moments 

 he was wet to the skin. After that he would scramble up 

 on the side of the trough, shake himself a time or two, and 

 then begin drying the water out of his feathers. If dan- 

 ger had come just at that time, he would have found it 

 difficult indeed to escape, for I have seen him try to fly 

 to the top of the fence not more than three feet above 

 the trough and hardly succeed in doing so. After fluttering 

 and shaking himself as free from water as possible he usu- 

 ally hopped to the top of the tall corner post, which always 

 caught the sun, to finish drying himself. Here every 

 feather was carefuUy smoothed out and drawn through his 

 bill till it was clean and smooth, and then he flew back to 

 look after household affairs and allow his wife to take her 

 bath. It was never long before she appeared and bathed 

 as enthusiastically as her husband, but I never knew them 

 to bathe at the same time. One always waited until the 

 other was through and thoroughly dry. 



I usually had several bird pets, and naturally became 

 anxious to add an oriole to the number, but it was a ques- 

 tion how I was to secure it. I could not climb to the nest, 

 still I had hopes that I could catch a young bird as soon 

 as it left the nest, but before it was able to fly well. I 

 watched carefully, but when the young birds left the nest 

 they were able to fly so well I could not catch them, so 



