22O Wild Bird Guests 



all the bird baths in Meriden. One example will 

 suffice. In the Bird Sanctuary there is a bath 

 made from a granite boulder, or rather half a 

 boulder, for it was split in two, ages ago, proba- 

 bly by the frost. It had broken in such a way 

 that one-half had a gently sloping concave sur- 

 face and we took this half, and turned the 

 concave surface uppermost that when filled with 

 water it might form a natural pool for the birds. 

 As I approached this bath one evening after 

 sundown, I saw the whole surface of the water 

 dancing as though a shoal of little fish were 

 sporting in it, and spray was flying in every 

 direction. It was simply a flock of birds taking 

 their evening bath. Perhaps because night was 

 coming on they were too impatient to wait their 

 turn, for all seemed to be trying to get in at 

 once, and most of them were successful. Juncos 

 seemed to be most numerous, but there were 

 several bluebirds and myrtle warblers and some 

 sparrows which in their wet plumage and in the 

 uncertain light I could not identify. A little 

 apart a phcebe sat on a twig above the pool, 

 watching for chances to dip down into the water 

 for an instant, after which she would return to 

 the twig to preen her feathers. 



Birds come to our bird baths every day in 

 summer and fall in an almost continuous pro- 



