198 BEACH GRASS 



Not only do I hear birds in my morning wak- 

 ing hours but I see them from my cot. Looking 

 up through the trees early one spring morning 

 I noticed a small bird fluttering among the leaves 

 of the topmost branches of an oak. With my 

 glasses I saw that it was a female Maryland 

 yellow-throat. Presently she hopped out to a 

 bare branch, shook herself as birds do after a 

 bath, puffing out all her feathers which were wet, 

 and I realized that she had been taking a dew- 

 bath in the tree-tops. 



It is possible that this is a common habit among 

 birds, although I have never seen it described. 

 The rustling and fluttering of the awakening 

 robins already mentioned may be the accompany- 

 ing sounds of dew-baths, but robins are such 

 early risers that there is too little light to spy 

 out their matutinal ways. 



Inquisitive chickadees are apt to fly about 

 from branch to branch close at hand, peering 

 at me with their black shining eyes. Catbirds 

 chase insects over the dry leaves, twitching the 

 leaves back of them with their bills, and making 

 the noise of a larger animal. Robins start 



