THE ORIGIN OF THE VOICE 17 



caught and hooded peregrine falcons in the posses- 

 sion of Major C. H. Fisher. 



The angry hissing or puffing of birds has not 

 been recorded by observers ; but in the above Hst 

 are birds of widely distinct genera, induced by 

 inherited tendencies to utter sounds which, in a 

 general sense, may be considered as restricted to 

 the reptile kingdom. This seems the more import- 

 ant when we remember how closely the bird is 

 physically related to the reptile. 



Whatever may have been the character of the 

 first vocal efforts, it is interesting to observe that at 

 the present time there are creatures of common 

 occurrence in which the voice is of an entirely 

 accidental origin. The appearance of these animals 

 does not suggest a tendency towards song, for they 

 are none other than the three commoner forms of 

 newts found in Britain, namely, the triton, the 

 smooth newt, and the palmate newt — creatures 

 allied to the salamanders, frogs, and other amphi- 

 bians. They commence life as tadpoles, and after- 

 wards come ashore to spend a period of some four 

 years in developing towards maturity. At the end 

 of this period they resume an aquatic existence for 

 the purpose of continuing their species. They 



breathe in the manner of frogs, forcing air into their 



2 



