January, 1920] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



labor. Of course you will have the trouble of 

 keeping the bath filled with water, but with a gar- 

 den hose it is a simple matter. 



It has been my custom for several seasons to 

 spend a few moments daily watching this bath. 

 Even five minutes will give surprising results. In 

 comparison with field notes, I find that the col- 

 lective results give a fairly accurate idea of the 

 birds prevailing at any time, except during very wet 

 or cold weather. 



After the middle of July, when vegetation is be- 

 ginning to lose its bloom, and the cicadas are com- 

 mencing to sing, I look in my garden for the first 

 signs of migration. There are already arrivals to be 

 seen along the beaches, such as certain shorebirds 

 that start south early in July, but I am going to 

 confine myself to birds that may be found in gardens. 

 At this time ycu will find the usual concourse of 

 summer resident garden birds at the bath — such as 

 song and chipping sparrows, catbirds, robms, red- 

 eyed vireos, wood peewees, yellow warblers, al- 

 ways the domestic sparrow, and possibly the Balti- 

 more oriole, if it has not already effected its usual 

 mysterious disappearance. Here is a chance for 

 investigation. We know there is a period when the 

 oriole stops singing in the garden, but does it really 

 leave? There seems to be no direct evidence on 

 this point. In the lot adjoining our garden there 

 are some huge elm trees, that might harbor dozens 

 of orioles in the dense foliage of the upper branches. 

 I have caught glimpses of them there, also of wood 

 pewees, catbirds, robins, and vireos, at times when 

 their absence from the garden proper was very ap- 

 parent. Go to the woods at this time and you will 

 find a corresponding scarcity of birds. Occasion- 

 ally you will get a glimpse of vireo, flycatcher, or 

 warbler, feeding young in the upper foliage, but 

 where are the many birds one saw earlier in the 

 season? Are they, too, sitting motionless in the tops 

 of the trees? Comparatively few of them have com- 

 menced to migrate. A little later when they com- 

 mence to appear in force in our gardens we know 

 the reason for the deserted woods. Perhaps the 

 fact that there is little to attract us to the woods in 

 late July and August is responsible for our lack of 

 knowledge in regard to the habits of moulting birds. 

 True, there are fewer mosquitoes, but I find the im- 

 mense numbers of spiders that spin their webs every- 

 where, even a greater nuisance. 



When I note the inactivity of birds during the 

 moulting period, I am reminded of the custom of 

 human beings at Easter. After wearing out their 

 old clothes during the winter there is a blaze of 

 color and activity on Easter morning. However, 

 we cannot draw parallels between the habits of 

 birds and human beings. There is probably a more 



vital reason for the retiring habits of birds during 

 the moulting season. For one thing their loosening 

 feathers and ragged plumage may induce a distaste 

 for flight. They may feel handicapped in the 

 struggle with their enemies and so remain in seclus- 

 ion until new feathers have replaced the old. What- 

 ever the reason for the oriole's disappearance we 

 know that for about two weeks during the latter part 

 of July they do not sing in our gardens. I usually 

 hear them again at the end of July or beginning of 

 August. 



We have, in St. Lambert, a flock of bronzed 

 grackles that nest in the neighborhood and often visit 

 the garden. I have come to the conclusion that the 

 grackle does considerable damage in gardens, al- 

 though I have never had the heart to disturb them. 

 For instance, my corn suffered. A year ago I 

 planted it in shallow drills and the blackbirds 

 promptly ate it. This year I planted it so deeply 

 that it rotted in the wet soil. Later, they turned 

 their attention to the peas and ripped open some of 

 the pods. However, I am repaid to some extent by 

 their increasing lameness. They are not greatly ad- 

 dicted to bathing — they merely splash noisily through 

 the water in their course over the lawn. Once my 

 sister called attention to a new bird in the bath. It 

 was merely another grackle, a high plumage male, 

 with an exceptional sheen of bronze and bluish-green 

 on its head and back, in great contrast to some 

 sober colored females nearby. 



One of the first signs of a bird movement is the 

 appearance of an occasional downy woodpecker in 

 the garden. I have never seen this bird enter the 

 bath, but have seen individuals clinging to a spruce 

 tree near it and evidently thoroughly enjoying a 

 shower from the garden hose. When in a hurry to 

 discover what birds are in the garden I sometimes 

 arrange the hose so that a fine spray falls over the 

 bath and spruce tree. This quickly attracts most 

 birds and it is much enjoyed by otherwise diffident 

 bathers. I have frequently watched that model of 

 industry, the downy woodpecker, as it examined 

 the spruce tree for larvae, suddenly stop as it 

 reached the arc of the spray, fluff out its feathers 

 and settle down for a bath. 



The birds that I usually see next are the redstarts 

 in various plumages — family parties that have nested 

 in the vicinity (they never nest in the garden). The 

 redstart, like most of the warblers, is a great bather. 

 It usually appears between August 5 and 16, and is 

 closely followed by black and white and chestnut- 

 sided warblers. Most of these early comers are 

 still in family parties. The black and white warbler 

 is especially fond of a good bath. I have seen one, 

 with a mixed lot of warblers, settle down in the 

 shallow water and remain for several minutes after 



