Little 
Bird Friends. 
(40 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
at first among other birds, and with so 
many rush nests for choice. But they 
soon selected one, and still continue in 
unbroken friendship as a trio. When 
sitting together cosily inside, the effect is 
quite as if there were only one very 
plump-breasted bird with three small 
heads, as the pretty, tinted feathers are 
all blended together, and the three heads 
leaning one against the other. In the 
winter, on fine days, the sun peeps into 
the chateau soon after twelve o’clock, 
and shines upon it until nearly sunset. 
This is, of course, a delightful time, ; nd 
especially to these three small people, 
who though they say they do not much 
mind the cold, and who do live appa¬ 
rently well and happy through many 
winters, still I think would confess some¬ 
times to a longing for sunshine. When 
it comes they are the first to greet it. 
One small patch, an inch square, is 
enough to begin with, and they are at 
once revelling in the warmth. As the 
shadows move on they follow the sun¬ 
shine, changing their position when need¬ 
ful. 
David , the Aristocrat. 
These little tinies are not hurt by the 
other birds. It would indeed be hard 
if they were, they are so gentle and 
innocent. But they are a little bullied 
sometimes. The Clown—well, you will 
hear what he does when you come to the 
chapter about him. But even David, 
the Aristocrat, does not always behave 
to them quite as he should. He is too 
active to care to sit still for more than a 
moment or two himself. But he seems 
to enjoy disturbing the Waxbills when 
they are thoroughly happy, basking in 
the sun’s rays. He will hop quietly to¬ 
wards them, and with his closed beak 
just sweep them off the perch, as if they 
were a little heap of rubbish in his way. 
So they fly, and so does David the next 
minute. Then, in a second, the plucky 
little things are back again in exactly 
the same position, only to be disturbed 
again in a short time. 
Knights of the Bath. 
All my birds are passionately fond of 
their bath, but the Waxbills are the most 
eager of any. Except in the very 
coldest weather I give them the oppor¬ 
tunity of bathing every day, if possible, 
between twelve and one o’clock. Two 
good-sized baths, and one especially for 
the Waxbills, are hung outside the open 
doors of the cage, and then a fine water 
frolic begins. The moment they see the 
baths coming, the Waxbills are ready 
standing at their special door, fluttering 
their wings in anticipation. . Ii will give 
you a good idea of how small they are 
if I tell you about their bath. The bath¬ 
room is a very small wire cage, with one 
side taken off. In this stands a round 
glass saucer, just three inches across. 
Not very large, is it ? But into this 
filled with cold water the Waxbills hop, 
without the slightest hesitation, and 
always all three together. They manage 
to find room somehow. Then, when 
they have had a thorough tubbing, they 
cuddle up together and plume them¬ 
selves ; but whether Midget plumes 
Scrap’s or Tottie’s feathers or his own 
is quite a matter of chance, and nobody 
seems to mind which way it is. Any¬ 
how, in about ten minutes, three clean, 
glossy little Waxbills are sitting to¬ 
gether, a little out of breath, and perhaps 
with heads tucked under their feathers 
for a well-earned rest after their exer¬ 
tions. A cross word among themselves, 
or to any other bird, is most rare. 
The Trio as Songsters. 
Do they sing at all? Yes, they do. 
Midget, in a very sweet, trilling little 
voice, in a downward chromatic scale. 
Then he ends with “ Winnie ? ” in a 
calling voice. “ Winnie ” evidently 
means “ wife ” or “ darling,” or some¬ 
thing of that kind. When I bought him 
he did not begin to sing at once, so I 
named his wife Tottie. But Winnie 
would have been the best name for her 
had I known in time. She also sings 
quite prettily, but, of course, does not 
say anything about “Winnie.” It is 
very funny, when they are sitting in a 
bunch on the perch, to see Midget pre¬ 
paring to sing. He lifts his head and 
says “ Tweet,” then raises himself higher, 
gives another “ Tweet,” then stands up 
