88 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



to make) is certainly not ventriloquial, although 

 if one comes to it with the sense of hearing dis- 

 organized by town noises or unpractised, one is 

 at a loss to determine the exact spot it comes 

 from, or even to know from which side it comes. 

 While emitting its prolonged sound the bird is so 

 absorbed in its own performance that it is not 

 easily alarmed, and will sometimes continue sing- 

 ing with a human listener standing within four 

 or five yards of it. When one is near the bird, 

 and listens, standing motionless, the effect on the 

 nerves of hearing is very remarkable, considering 

 the smallness of the sound, which, without being 

 unpleasant, is somewhat similar to that produced 

 by the vibration of the brake of a train; it is not 

 powerful enough to jar the nerves, but appears 

 to pervade the entire system. Lying still, with 

 eyes closed, and three or four of these birds sing- 

 ing near, so that their strains overlap and leave 

 no silent intervals, the listener can imagine that 

 the sound originates within himself; that the num- 

 berless fine cords of his nervous network tremble 

 responsively to it. 



There are a number of natural sounds that 

 resemble more or less closely the most unbird- 



