128 Bird -Lore 



bathe very thoroughly, making a business of it, going into the deepest part of 

 the water, to the middle of the bath-tub, throwing the water all about and over 

 themselves, and waiting for one another that everyone may have the deepest 

 place. Sometimes seven Bluebirds have alighted on the bath at the same 

 time and enjoyed a bath en famille. The Kingbirds alight on the wire fence 

 and swoop suddenly down into the bath and out again, only dipping into the 

 water, but doing this over and over again, never alighting on the bath-tub 

 itself. 



"I have seen seven varieties of birds at one time waiting their turn: Robins, 

 Kingbirds, Bluebirds, Goldfinches, a strange bird almost as large as a Robin 

 with olive back, white wing-bars, and brilliant breast, shaded from deep orange 

 to pale yellow [female Oriole] and two kinds of Sparrows. 



"The birds bathe usually in the early afternoon, when I fancy the water 

 has become warmed by the sun. I sometimes have had to refill the bath three 

 times in as many hours. It holds more than a quart of water and is about 

 three inches deep in the middle. Our season in these uplands of New Hamp- 

 shire is short, and the birds bathe mostly in July and August, June and Sep- 

 tember being too cold." — E. T. S. 



THE BLUE JAY BATHES IN WINTER 



"Blue Jays are very familiar neighbors of ours, coming to the window-sill 

 regularly on winter mornings for peanuts and rearing their families in our old 

 forest trees. They take frequent water-baths all summer in the bird-bath 

 under the dining-room windows, thoroughly drenching their feathers and fly- 

 ing to a nearby branch or chair-back to shake and preen them. 



"Last Friday, January 29, about the middle of the morning, two Blue Jays 

 came to the bath, which had been recently filled, and enjoyed a real summer- 

 time water-bath. The weather had moderated after some days of severe cold, 

 and the temperature was several degrees above freezing. 



"Robins bathe as soon as they arrive in March and all through the season. 

 They begin their daily ablutions early in the morning and seem especially to 

 enjoy their evening bath. At midday they like to sit and soak in the shallow 

 water of the bath." — Edith H. Whittaker, Toledo, Ohio. 



ENTHUSIASTIC ROBINS BATHING 



"My friend in town here put two large shallow pans filled with water on 

 the lawn one evening. Next morning, a little before 6 o'clock, she counted 

 nineteen Robins, twenty Sparrows, one Nuthatch, and two Vireos. The Robins 

 were taking their bath, two at a time, going from pan to pan, while the Spar- 

 rows tried hard to get a foot in. At times they would sit in a circle on the rim 

 of the pans, but Robins found time amid their splashes to peck — and peck 

 hard too — sending the Sparrows in all directions. Then the Robins would 

 chase their little ones in until they, too, had a bath. The Nuthatch and Vireos 



