THE SKYLARK, THE WOODLARK, THE THRUSH.

211

glottis is probably silent, and the column of air vibrates as in a flute, when a vibratory movement is communicated by the air traversing the elastic walls of the tube. Besides the power of speech possessed by some birds, many can imitate almost every sound they hear; the blackbird has been known to imitate the sound of the nightingale, the crowing of the common cock, and the cackle of the hen. The jay is said to mock the notes of the greenfinch and the neighing of the horse so closely that it was scarcely believed to be a bird by those who heard it; also the calling of fowls to their food, and the barking of the house-dog.

The variety in the song of singing birds is a subject of the greatest interest. The songsters, properly so called, include the skylark, the woodlark, the thrush, the blackbird, and the nightingale. A slight notice of the notes of each of these follows:

The skylark is one of our most agreeable songsters. Its song is composed of several strains, each consisting of trilling and warbling notes variously modulated, occasionally interrupted by a powerful whistling. Sometimes the lark sings on the ground, perched on a clod, or crouched among the grass; but generally in commencing its song it starts off, rises perpendicularly or obliquely in the air, with a fluttering motion, and continues it till it has attained its highest clevation, which not unfrequently is such as to render the bird scarcely perceptible. Even then, as remarked by a distinguished naturalist, if the weather be calm, you hear its warble coming faintly on the air at intervals. The lark is also a bird of singular capacity; the young learn the notes of any other bird which hangs near them in confinement, and some full-grown birds are observed to possess a like facility. There is, however, a considerable difference among larks in the strength and melodiousness of the note. In confinement some larks begin to sing as early as November, and go on singing until moulting time; others begin in March, and cease as early as August. In the wild state their period of singing is much shortened.

The woodlark is considerably less than the skylark, but of all the larks it is the sweetest songster. Its voice has all the melody of the flute, marked at times by a tender and even somewhat melancholy strain. It sings sometimes in the air, sometimes on the top of a tree. When singing in the air it is frequently seen flying in large, irregular circles. The woodlark sings late in the evening, so as sometimes to be mistaken for the nightingale. The female woodlark, like the female of larks in general, is not destitute of song; but all that it can reach is a few strophes much interrupted.

The thrush has a clear and beautiful song. On the tops of the highest trees it welcomes the approach of spring, and sings throughout the whole summer, especially in the morning dawn and the eve

212 THE BLACKBIRD, THE NIGHTINGALE, ETC. ning twilight. It is kept in a cage by bird-fanciers, whence often on a morning, even as early as February, it will delight a whole street by its pleasing song, outside the window, or even inside, provided the window be a little open. The thrush in its wild state is fond of bathing. In September and October they are often caught at the places where they water, before sunrise and after sunset, and even so late that they cannot be seen, but only heard. At the time

of bathing they have a peculiar call-note. When a thrush finds water, or when it is flying towards a known watering place, it pipes loudly sik, sik, sik, sik, siki, tsak, tsak! and immediately all the thrushes in the neighbourhood reply, and come on.

The blackbird has a song rich in melody, containing some deep notes, like those of the nightingale, yet varied with some which are unpleasantly harsh. When at liberty it sings from March to July, particularly at night. In the cage it sings throughout the whole year, except at moulting time. Its note is pure, distinct, and clear. It has a good memory, and will learn several airs or melodies without confusing them. It is even able to imitate words.

The nightingale by the fineness of its voice surpasses every other bird. The variety and peculiarity of its tones express its varying emotions. When the male is alone, its most significant note is the pipe-note witt. But if the harsh syllable, krr, be added, it forms the call of the male to the female. To express anger or fear the note witt is repeated with great loudness and rapidity before the termination krr is added. When happy and contented the nightingale utters a deep tack. Under the excitement of anger, jealousy, or alarm, the nightingale utters an unpleasant shrieking tone, which resembles the cry of the jay. When they sport and chase each other, which they frequently do in pairing time, they utter a very short chirping sound. Such notes belong to both sexes; but the power and the brilliancy of his song distinguishes the male. His vocal organ is of striking power; the muscles of his throat are more robust than those of any other singing bird. Besides the strength of his voice, the nightingale is remarkable for the force, the agreeable transitions, and the beautiful harmony of his song. Commencing softly, he warbles for a moment a succession of low melancholy notes, which gradually increase in strength, and at last die away upon the ear. A variety of sharp notes follows, and then are uttered numerous hurried sharp notes, intermingled with some detached ascending notes, with which he generally closes his strain. In the song of a fine nightingale, without reference to slighter variations, there are at least four-and-twenty different strains.

Among the sparrow and finch tribes there are many much prized singing birds.

The bullfinch has naturally a harsh, creaking tone, but young

THE LINNET, THE GOLDFINCII, THE CANARY.

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birds learn all kinds of songs, airs, and melodies. If it be desired that a bullfinch should sing perfectly, it ought never to be taught more than one melody, in addition to the fanfare, which is always added by way of surplus.

The chaffinch has a variety of notes expressive of its wants and desires. There is one delicate note, expressed treef, treef, by which it appears to remark a change of temperature. The call-note, which it uses chiefly on its migration, is a repeated yack, yack. A spontaneous sound appears to be fink, fink, which it reiterates, and from which perhaps the root of its name is derived. More remarkable than these notes is its clear and trilling song; as approaching more to distinct articulation, it is termed a quaver. Each bird has one, two, three, and often as many as four different songs, each of which lasts a couple of seconds, and consists of several strophes. Those who desire a particular account of the different songs of the chaffinch, may consult "Chamber Birds," by Bechstein, translated from the German by Mr. Shuckard, London, 1848.

The linnet has a very remarkable, loud, and flute-like song, consisting of many connected strophes, which is the more beautiful the oftener it utters some high-sounding notes, which are termed its crowing, from the resemblance to the crowing of a cock. From its natural flute-like voice, this bird surpasses all others in its capacity for imitating melodies in a beautiful and pure style. A young linnet taught by a nightingale has an exceedingly pleasing song.

The goldfinch has a shrill, agreeable song, heard during all seasons, except at the period of mculting. It contains many warbling and twittering notes, on which it dwells more or less, and the oftener the syllable fink is repeated the more it is admired. Some birds utter these notes only once or twice in their song, while others give them forth four or five times in succession. The goldfinch does not acquire the song of other birds with so much ease as the linnet and the canary.

The canary is distinguished by correctness of ear, by the remarkable skill it possesses of imitating all tones, and by an excellent memory. While canaries imitate the notes of other birds, they mix them with their own, so as greatly to improve the song. In different countries canaries exhibit a different character of melody. Those birds which intermix in their melodies several strophes of the song of the nightingale, are called Tyrolese canaries. The English canaries, on the contrary, imitate the song of the lark.

Even birds of prey often exhibit no small extent of voice. The kestrel has a bell-like ringing voice, kli, kli, kli, which he often repeats in rapid succession. The white owl utters a plaintive cry, which by the superstitious has been regarded as a sign of death. The raven has a hoarse croak resembling the syllable crock or cruck,

214

THE ROOK, THE JACKDAW, THE PARROT.

but it also utters a note not unlike the sound of a sudden gulp, or the syllable cluck, which it seems to utter when in a sportive mood. The rooks have a considerable variety of sounds. Their chief cry resembles the syllable khraa, more or less harsh or soft according to occasion. There is great diversity in the voice of individuals, the notes of some being much louder and clearer than those of others. Their cries, separately, are monotonous and disagreeable; yet when at some distance, and uttered by a large flock, they become by no means unpleasant. Mr. M'Gillivray describes the sounds proceeding from a rookery at night as consisting of a variety of soft, clear, modulated notes, very unlike their usual cry. He regarded these sounds as expressive of affection, and was persuaded that the mothers were fondling and coaxing the newly-hatched young.

The jackdaw is extremely clamorous, with a loud and clear note, resembling the syllable kae or caw, variously modulated. The noise produced by a large flock, though in no degree musical, is far from being disagreeable. The jay can even learn to speak, uttering, however, nothing but solitary words. They may be taught also the fanfare of a trumpet, and other melodies of single bars, as well as little airs and the notes of many birds. The magpie imitates all striking sounds, and can be taught to speak more easily than any other of the crow tribe. The cry of the cuckoo is universally welcome as the harbinger of spring. His principal sound is nothing but hu-hu or coo-coo, repeated at short intervals; when attention is given, however, it is found that these two loud and mellow notes are preceded by a kind of churring or chuckling sound, which consists of a low and guttural inflexion of the voice, during which the throat seems distended.

The parrot tribe are most remarkable for their power of imitating human speech. The cockatoo shrieks its own name, cockatoo, and calls loudly, in a trumpet-like tone, derdeny. The cries of all animals it acquires, particularly those of the domestic cock and hen. It rarely, however, acquires the power of articulating words. There are numerous species of cockatoo parrots having much the same character of voice. Among the commonest of the parrot tribe in Europe is the ash-coloured parrot. This parrot readily learns to speak, and to pipe. It has not the unpleasant wild shriek of some of the parrot tribe. It takes no small delight in imitating the voice of children; hence children are its best instructors. If its education be begun early, it will sometimes acquire entire verses, and even

axioms.

The gray woodpecker has a note which resembles a loud shout of laughter, whence some of its popular names are derived; this note is never varied, except by its more clamorous repetition during the spring and early summer months, and by the peculiar cry, plui, plui,

THE CROAKING OF FROGS.

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plui, which has been supposed to indicate the approach of rain. The wryneck in spring frequently and loudly utters gigigigi, which is the call whereby he attracts his mate. The nuthatch utters a loud call, which may be heard at a considerable distance, resembling grew, deck, deck. The ring-dove, or cushat, has a loud and particularly pleasing cooing, during which he makes very grotesque motions, which may be backwards and forwards, or from side to side, moving the head in every direction. The turtle-dove has a peculiar cry, and bows his head while it is uttered.

Voice of Reptiles. -The sounds uttered by reptiles and amphibious animals have their source in the larynx, like the voice of mammals. In frogs, as well as in the crocodile, there are vocal cords. In the crocodile the larynx, though more simple than in mammals, still retains something of the same character. There is one large, long-shaped cartilage, to which are attached two movable cartilages. The mucous membrane descending from these movable cartilages into a deep pouch beneath, leaves a free fold on each side, which, when the movable cartilages approximate, becomes a vocal cord. In the gecko and the chameleon the vocal cords are more developed than in the crocodile; nevertheless they are formed on the same plan. The lizard has an acute, chirping voice, which has been supposed to depend on a peculiar membranous fold attached to the larynx, but it really seems to depend on a vibration of the margins of the glottis. In the turtle tribe there are no vocal cords, nor is their larynx adapted to a perfect intonation of the breath.

In the true serpents there are no vocal cords; the hissing sound which constitutes their imperfect voice is a mere forcible breathing. In the male frog membranous sacs at the side of the neck become distended in the utterance of the voice, and serve to increase its intensity. In the Rana pipa, in which the larynx, as in all other frogs, receives the bronchi directly, without the intervention of a windpipe, there is a large cartilaginous box, within which are two solid reedlike bodies, nearly as long as the larynx itself. The anterior extremities of these bodies are fixed; their posterior extremity is free, and projects on each side towards the opening of the bronchus. The vocal sound is produced by the vibrations of reed-shaped tongues, which act like a tuning-fork; while in other animals of the same class the parts which produce the sound are membranous. If a small piece of cartilage, a few lines in length, be fixed by one end, and a

FIG. 100.

RANA TEMPORARIA (COMMON FROG)-Bishop. a, tongue; b, hyoid bone; c, superior vocal cords; d, inferior vocal cords; e, pharynx; f, right bronchus.