With the Birds in Alaska 241 



covered with the same material. Then the nest was placed on a shelf that was 

 fastened to the building, as nearly as possible where the old nest had been. The 

 parent birds then took possession and built the usual mud structure from the 

 top of the Robin's nest to the roof of the building and they raised the family 

 successfully. 



On August 6, the Swallows of both kinds, Violet-Green and Cliff, congre- 

 gated on the clothes and telephone lines, and for three days we were treated to 

 a most interesting exhibition of the training of the young, then on the fourth 

 day, about 5 o'clock in the morning, they took their departure. 



A bird-bath, of which a picture is enclosed, was a lively place all summer, 

 enjoyed mostly by Gambel's Sparrows, for from 4 in the morning until 6 at 

 night they splashed. Occasionally a Robin would come for a bath, and one 



GAMBEL'S SPARROWS BATHING 



day, August 11, a yellow-breasted bird had a plunge. Two or these little 

 fellows visited a birch tree in the front yard frequently after that date, until 

 the freeze-up, but could never be identified. The wings were dark and the 

 heads and breasts a bright orange-yellow but their markings could never be 

 determined as they were very shy. 



A female Shrike appeared in September, but left after the first hard freeze. 

 During the fall Canada Jays, unidentified Hawks, and Owls and what looked 

 like Eagles, were seen. Five Sparrow Hawks were around for several days. 



The Sparrows left gradually. The ice in the bath was broken for them 

 several mornings before their final departure. On September 20, one little 

 one, seeing a member of the family in the yard, came down from a field and 

 went to the bath and apparently made a little speech. The ice was broken for 

 it, a last plunge was taken, it uttered a few more sounds and was gone. It 



