19* Male * fUer 



delightedly performed his bath. Having set the 

 stamp of his approval on the public bath, the other 

 birds accepted it without question. 



It affords us constant amusement to watch the 

 antics of the various bathers ; mother birds fre- 

 quently bring their little broods which with nervous 

 timidity of quivering wing dare not brave the terrors 

 of the sea, until emboldened by watching their 

 mother's ablutions. 



About the drinking bowl we daily throw handfuls 

 of chicken feed and old bread to add to its allure- 

 ments. In winter we keep the spot popular, after 

 the bowl has been retired to the cellar, by hanging 

 many pieces of suet on strings to the boughs of the 

 apple tree which shades the bowl in summer. The 

 suet is for the especial cheer of the chickadees, who 

 blithely hang upside down, feasting, swinging and 

 singing between mouthfuls in the wintry gusts of 

 wind. 



164* 



