3i6 Jennings* s Ornitholbgia, 



In the introductory part, Mr. Jennings has very properly 

 corrected some of the mistakes of the Hon. Daines Barring- 

 ton, in his well-known paper in the Philosophical Transactions, 

 on the Singing of Birds ; a paper which is far from accurate, 

 either in its facts or its reasonings. Take the following as an 

 instance : — 



" Mr. Barrington thinks that the reason vfhy females do not 

 sing is, because, if they did, when sitting on their eggs, they 

 would be discovered. This is by no means a conclusive rea- 

 son; for I once discovered a thrush's nest, by hearing the 

 parent bird sing while sitting on the eggs. Besides, as the 

 cock and hen of many species frequently sit on the eggs in 

 turn, the female's not singing could be no security to the nest, 

 while the cock was sitting and singing there." (p. Q5.) 



We confess we are disposed to doubt the fact of either cock 

 or hen singing while sitting on their eggs, notwithstanding the 

 solitary instance given by Mr. Jennings, on his own observ- 

 ation. It would be difficult, indeed, to prove the negative, 

 but it is clearly contrary to the uniform instinctive care exhi- 

 bited by all birds in concealing their nests. In the case of 

 canaries, and other birds which breed in cages, we have never 

 observed an instance of any bird singing in the act of incuba- 

 tion. Mr. Barrington, however, is altogether wrong in as- 

 serting that hen birds never sing. He ought to have been 

 certain of the fact before speculating upon it. We have re- 

 peatedly heard hen birds sing; and Mr. Sweet, the well- 

 known author of The British Warblers^ makes the qualified 

 statement, that " females seldom sing ; I had a female redstart 

 which sang a little ; and female bull-finches sing as frequently 

 as the males." Again, Mr. Sweet says, " I have had several 

 female birds which never attempted to sing ; but now I have 

 two that sing frequently ; one is a female black-cap ; she sings 

 a note peculiar to herself, and not the least like the male, or 

 any other bird with which I am acquainted. I kept her several 

 years before she began to sing. I have also a female willow 

 wren, that sings nearly as much as the cock ; this bird was 

 bred up from the nest, and did not sing at all the first year. 

 Her note is quite different from that of the male, but re- 

 sembles it sufficiently to indicate that it belongs to the same 

 species." 



Mr. Jennings appears to have a leaning towards a very 

 unfounded notion, at which we rather wonder, since he appears 

 to be acquainted with the American Ornithology of Wilson. 

 " The mocking-bird," he says, " forms a striking exception 

 to what is generally esteemed the character of the birds of the 

 new world, where the rich, lively, and brilliant hues of the 



