1903 The Language of Birds 105 



his permanent home, he has been obliged to abandon his 

 gregarious habits — how would it be possible for him to nest, 

 like the fieldfare in the far north, in "colonies" in English 

 fields patrolled by birds-nesting yokels ?— but has not yet 

 changed his manners. 



More acute and shrill than the note of fear is the note of 

 distress (17) which every one must know well who has picked 

 up a wounded sparrow or starling. They are noisy, no 

 doubt, by gregarious instinct, raising an outcry with the, 

 perhaps unconscious, hope that comrades may come to their 

 assistance. The lamentable squawking of a captured fowl 

 might be regarded as a cry for help, too ; but other birds 

 utter sounds of distress which cannot thus be explained. 

 The pigeon, for instance, grunts when it is seized, and 

 there can be no idea of summoning other pigeons to its help 

 thereby. Still I think that when the language of the birds 

 begins to be a little understood, the squawking of a distressed 

 fowl or the screeching of a wounded starling might be placed 

 in different categories from the grunting of a troubled 

 pigeon. 



Proceeding, however, with our series, we conclude the 

 notes of personal emotion by the expression of self-assertion 

 (18). This is generally limited to the males, and includes 

 the song of singing-birds, the crowing of game-birds, and 

 the strange, raucous sounds of many waders and water-birds. 

 In each case a challenge is uttered to every male of the same 

 species within hearing, and it means that the challenger has 

 taken possession of a nesting-site with a sphere of influence 

 attached, which he is prepared to defend against all rivals of 

 his own kind. This is why closely related species — as, for 

 instance, the willow - wren and the chiffchaff — may have 

 totally different songs. They are addressed solely to males 

 of the same species ; and the more distinct they are from all 

 other challenges the better they serve their purpose. The 

 chiffchaff has no fear that any willow-wren will come and 

 steal his wife; but let any other male chiffchaff dare to 

 come, and the shrubbery is full of alarums and excursions 

 until the feud has been decisively settled. 



Only three heads of bird-language remain. These are em- 

 ployed solely by gregarious birds. The note of conversation 



