^ESTHETIC FEELING IN BIRDS. 653 



with their total absence among most nuts, would lead to the conclusion 

 that their likes and dislikes in the matter of smell are fully as marked. 



But it is when we arrive at the sense of hearing that we come to 

 the point where proper aesthetic feelings begin. It is quite impossible 

 to doubt that birds are fond of musical sounds. The song of our own 

 nightingales and linnets, the deep notes of the South American bell- 

 bird, the incessant cooing of the dove, the noisy chattering of the 

 parrots, the ringing cry of the whippoorwill, all lead to the same con- 

 clusion. Here, again, these sounds are of precisely the same nature as 

 those employed by the crickets, katydids, cicadas, and other musical 

 insects, as well as by man himself in his vocal and instrumental music. 

 Something of the same taste is displayed among the quadrumana by 

 the howlers and other monkeys. But it is a noteworthy fact that 

 1 large majority of these presumably sexual calls, in birds, insects, 

 d,nd other animals, are true musical sounds, not mere noises. I have 

 pointed out elsewhere the probable reason for this preference of pure 

 tones in the case of mankind ; and the same argument will apply, 

 mutatis mutandis, to all other animals. But there is certainly a singu- 

 lar analogy in this respect between sounds and colors, most animals 

 preferring the relatively pure and simple musical tones to confused 

 noises ; and the relatively pure and simple analytic colors, red, blue, 

 green, and yellow, to confused mixtures such as brown, gray, and 

 mud-color. At any rate, a bird evidently pays far more attention to 

 the musical class of auditory perceptions than to mere noise. A canary 

 will take no notice of ordinary confused sounds in a room ; but, if one 

 begins to chirp or whistle to it, it immediately responds with another 

 chirp in emulation. So, too, when a piano or other musical instrument 

 is played in the neighborhood of a singing bird, it will often show its 

 recognition of the musical character by pouring out its very fullest 

 flood of song, as if to conquer its unconscious rival. Of course, the 

 singing-matches between birds themselves are too familiarly known to 

 call for separate mention. It may be worth while, however, to notice 

 that this love of musical sound exists even among certain reptiles ; for 

 I have often seen the common house-lizard of Jamaica listening with 

 evident interest and attention to the playing of a piano, turning his 

 head from side to side, and scampering away when disturbed, only 

 to return again to the fascinating sound after a minute or two of 

 hesitation. 



The cases of the starling, the piping bullfinch, and the mocking- 

 bird, which can be taught to whistle a tune, show the same power still 

 more highly developed. These instances prove not merely suscepti- 

 bility to musical sounds, but also a capacity for distinguishing the 

 harmonic intervals. It is stated that some birds, even in the wild 

 state, display considerable knowledge of the musical scale ; and a San 

 Francisco naturalist is at present engaged upon a work in which he 

 hopes to show that the human ear possesses in this respect merely a 



