Bird Notes and their Value 



step of the approach to a residence near 

 my home he came across one of these 

 birds standing beside its partner, lying 

 dead. Drawn close to it by the heart- 

 broken woe of its voice, he discovered to 

 his surprise that it was so utterly engrossed 

 with its sense of bereavement that he was 

 able to bend down and stroke its feathers 

 (even while the bird itself stroked with 

 its beak those of the inanimate form it 

 loved) without any apparent sign of con- 

 sciousness in the bereft one of what my 

 friend was doing. 



It is not to be wondered at that a Robin's 

 notes of mourning so reach the soul some- 

 times, when upon occasion they can spring 

 from a grief as absolute as was exhibited 

 here. 



But these random reflections are, of 

 course, aside from the main purpose of 

 this chapter. 



Bird music has other — practical — values 

 for the ornithologist, beyond whatever 

 expression of joy or sorrow, or anything 

 else of this nature informing to the human 



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