PROVIDE DRINKING AND BATHING FOUNTAINS 43 
rows drink from an open spring. During the cold 
weather of February, 1899, a flock of evening grosbeaks 
remained for weeks near an open place of the Minnesota 
River. I saw the birds feed on the box-elder seeds 
several times, but never saw them drink. On March 
4th, 1899, I saw through the window about eight feet 
from the point of observation, a small flock of those 
birds eat the wet, thawing snow in a sunny corner on 
the roof of my house. This was about 8:30 in the 
morning, when the snow on the ground was not at all 
thawing. The nearest open water was about two miles 
away. Frequently I have observed house sparrows 
bathing in snow water whose temperature was just 
above freezing. 
All animals must have water, unless they find enough 
of it in their food. Flesh-eating and insect-eating 
birds may find enough of it in their food, seed-eaters 
may fly some distance to find it or they may strip the 
dew off the grass ; in the winter, they drink at springs 
or at other open places, or eat snow, but there can be 
little doubt that they prefer water to snow. 
Construction of the Bathing and Drinking Basin. —The 
best bathing and drinking place is a bank of sand or 
gravel to which the water is supplied by a spring or 
running stream. It should have a sloping bottom, 
making the water from } to 3 inches deep. It should 
be close to shrubs and trees, thus affording ready shelter 
against birds of prey, but there should be no hiding 
place for cats near by. 
Where such natural basins cannot be furnished, dis. 
