UNSANITARY DRINKING 315 



on them by a cabby, who had got his finger on a 

 fountain- jet and was making it spirt. Many must 

 have seen similar Spartan behaviour, on the part 

 of many of our small garden birds in winter, such 

 as the Robin. 



One curious thing about birds' bathing is that 

 they are much more particular about their bathing 

 water than that which they use as a beverage. 

 They will drink any dirty water, but much prefer 

 that which is clean to bathe in ; even Ducks will 

 not go into a pond which has become excessively 

 foul, and if there is any difficulty about their water 

 supply it is much better to give them merely a 

 large tin bath filled afresh every day than to dig 

 out a pond, if this must become stagnant owing 

 to want of facilities for renewing the water. It 

 is a similar feeling, no doubt, which makes sea- 

 birds resort to fresh water for bathing wherever 

 possible ; even the Johnny Penguins (Pygoscelis 

 taniata) in South Georgia have been found to 

 resort to a fresh- water lake for fresh- water bathing. 

 In fact, they liked the pond so much that, according 

 to the observer who records the habit, they went 

 there to die, many dead specimens being visible 

 in the clear depths. 



It is a familiar observation that water rolls off a 

 Duck's back, and as a matter of fact, the clothing 

 of waterfowl is generally waterproof, as one would 

 expect, though not in the Magpie-Goose or in 

 Cormorants, whose habit of standing with expanded 

 wings to dry themselves after fishing is well known. 



