Songs a\d Call Notes. 195 



to let a supposed mewing cat into a house. It 

 has also been known to try to imitate the sound 

 of bells. 



A Starling's own song is a chissicking, creak- 

 ing, snapping, rusty sort of production, Avith a 

 few liner notes that are mostly borrowed dropping 

 out here and there at intervals as if by accident, 

 and the wing-flapping, throat-vibrating fuss it 

 makes over its vocal cflbrts is really ludicrous. 



The Sedge Warbler is a great mimic, and seems 

 to splutter out the notes of Sparrows, Chaffinches, 

 Swallows, and other birds in a tremendous hurry 

 and bewildering mixture. 



The ^larsli Warl)ler. a bird found breeding in 

 limited numbers in certain parts of England every 

 year, is considered by such ornithologists as Mr. 

 Ward Fowler, and others well acquainted with its 

 vocal powers, to be the prince of song-bird imitators, 

 as it does not j'umble U[) a mnnbcr of borrowed 

 notes, but runs separately through the songs of 

 the birds it copies. After it has dealt with one it 

 pauses for a while before commencing to run over 

 another belonging to a different species. 



Goldtinches, Linnets, Wheatears, Ijlackl)irds, 

 Thrushes, Jays, Kobins, and even House Sparrows 

 can all copy other birds' notes. 



The Hon. ] )aines Barrington, friend and corre- 

 spondent of the immortal White of Selborne, 

 conducted a series of experiments bearing directly 

 upon this interesting subject of imitation, and 



