44 THE BIRD GROWN UP 
When a partridge mother sees danger, she 
gives one call, which all her brood know, and at — 
once run and hide. When the hen speaks to 
her chicks, they know well whether it means to 
come to her, or to run away. 
Of course birds do not use our words. When 
it is said that the quail says “ Bob White,” it is 
meant that his call sounds like those words. 
To some the notes sound like “ more wet.” One 
may call it almost anything, like “all right” or 
too: hot.” 
You will read in books about birds, that a 
certain warbler says “ Witches here,’ or that 
the white-throated sparrow says “ Old Tom Pea- 
body,” and other birds say still different things. 
The writer means that the words remind one of 
the bird’s notes, and so it is useful to know 
them, because it helps you to know the bird 
when you hear him. 
I have many times seen birds act as if they 
were talking to each other. You can often see 
the city sparrows do so. 
There is nothing in a bird’s ways that we like 
so well as his singing. And in all the many 
species of birds in the world, no two sing exactly 
alike, so far as I can find out. You may always 
know a bird by his song. A robin does not 
sing like a thrush or a catbird. And what is 
