326 A Plea for the Birds 



a highly ornamented one. A roasting pan, painted 

 white inside and out will be very attractive. 



Perhaps the really best-planned bird baths are 

 pools of a few inches in depth, the bottom sloping 

 gradually upward toward the edge. Both bottom 

 and edge should be rough to afford a safe footing for 

 the tiny claws. A pool of concrete will be excel- 

 lent, and if a metal receptacle is used, it will be 

 well to have it roughened. 



Birds appreciate a water supply in winter as well 

 as in summer. 



A bath on top of a rockery will be attractive and 

 convenient. Fashioned of concrete, they can easily 

 be made by an amateur. 



When bird baths are sunk into the ground, or 

 placed where they can easily be reached by cats, it 

 is best to surround them by thick shrubbery, to 

 make the cat's approach difficult. Most birds 

 prefer the bath on the ground, for they can 

 then hop out and shake themselves off before 

 having to fly. 



Birds cannot fly far with wet feathers, so be sure 

 to ha\;e bushes or trees near the bath that they 

 may fly there and shake themselves off. They 



