After a few days of drying out the hospital cage a few times a day, and cleaning out the hospital cage a few times a day, and refilling the water dish, and changing the paper, and inserting the Evil Hand of Scraping Out Sprouting Seeds From All the Splashed Bath Water Everywhere With the Wetness, I decided to remove the white water dish entirely. I engaged in a bit of hovering to try to see if all the birds were willing and able to drink from the external bird bath, but found that the extra time spent watching exacerbated symptoms of what I fear is an allergic reaction to (shudder) birds.

No, wait! Don't worry. I refuse to be allergic to birds. Most of the problem, I'm sure, is that there are nine of them in a tiny space, they are barely able to take proper baths (though you'd hardly know that from all the Wetness Everywhere), and they flap incessantly when the Evil Hand comes in. Let's not worry about it until they're in the Finsterium and can take proper baths, shall we?

As an alternative to hovering, once a day or so I give them a small water dish, just to be sure they can easily get one decent drink a day. But wouldn't you know: despite the fact that it's just over three inches in diameter, and only holds three tablespoons of water, it still makes a fine bath. Still, once a day with the Wetness Everywhere is easier to handle.

The good news is that the new Finsters are much calmer. Apart from the intrusion of the Evil Hand, they don't get too scared when I stand nearby to watch them, or check on their early morning crowing, or see where they sleep at night (last night one Spice finch and the two Societies perched on the edge of the bird bath — it was a Spice sandwich). We're all getting to know each other.