Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Canadian Field-Naturalist, Vol. 34: January, 1920
We have, in St. Lambert, a ?ock 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 black'birds 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 tameness. They are not greatly ad dicted to bathing - they merely splas'h 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, ?uff out its feathers and settle down for a bath.
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