BIRD -SONGS. 37 



more expressive of happiness. Many of them 

 were entirely new and strange, although the 

 familiar pewee was introduced among the rest. 

 As I listened, I felt it to be an occasion for 

 thankfulness that the delighted creature had 

 never studied anatomy, and did not know that 

 the structure of his throat made it improper for 

 him to sing. In this connection, also, I recall 

 a cardinal grosbeak, whom I heard several 

 years ago, on the bank of the Potomac River. 

 An old soldier had taken me to visit the Great 

 Falls, and as we were clambering over the rocks 

 this grosbeak began to sing ; and soon, without 

 any hint from me, and without knowing who 

 the invisible musician was, my companion re- 

 marked upon the uncommon beauty of the song. 

 The cardinal is always a great singer, having a 

 voice which, as European writers say, is almost 

 equal to the nightingale's ; but in this case the 

 more stirring, martial quality of the strain had 

 given place to an exquisite mellowness, as if it 

 were, what I have no doubt it was, a song of 

 love. 



Every kind of bird has notes of its own, so that 

 a thoroughly practiced ear would be able to dis- 

 criminate the different species with nearly as 

 much certainty as Professor Baird would feel 

 after an examination of tlie anatomy and plum- 

 age. Still this strong specific resemblance is 



