Bird Baths 225 



Occasionally a phcebe comes, but apparently 

 takes a bath more from a sense of duty than from 

 any love of bathing. He seems to dislike cold 

 water about as much as does the average small 

 boy, for instead of getting right into it as most 

 birds do, he flits through it, barely getting his 

 feet wet. Perhaps this habit has been acquired 

 by repeatedly darting after insects, and possibly 

 is common to all flycatchers; at any rate I 

 have seen a kingbird bathe by dashing through 

 the water of a stream time and again, re- 

 turning after each dip to a snag, from which 

 he made a fresh] dive after stopping: a moment 

 to preen his feathers, and perhaps to catch his 

 breath. 



But the song sparrows are perhaps the most 

 numerous visitors to this bird bath; they come 

 earlier and stay later than any of the other birds. 

 They act as if they owned this particular sheet 

 of water, three feet by two, and if any other bird 

 ventures too near while a song sparrow is bath- 

 ing the former is promptly driven away. These 

 sparrows seem to fairly love the water, and not 

 only splash in it, but squat right down in it 

 until practically nothing but their heads are 

 sticking out. Sometimes when it is almost dark, 

 and the last red tinge of afterglow is reflected 

 in the tiny pool, a couple of dark spots on the 



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