124 BIRDS AND MAN 



the notes of the former bird are differently arranged, 

 and do not form anything hke a cadence. Again, 

 take the case of the blackbird. We are accus- 

 tomed to describe the blackbird's voice as flute-like, 

 and the flute is one of the instruments which 

 most nearly resemble the human voice. Now, on 

 account of the leisurely manner in which the black- 

 bird gives out his notes, the resemblance to human 

 speech is not so pronounced as in the case of the 

 willow wren or swallow ; but when two or three 

 or half a dozen blackbirds are heard singing close 

 together, as we sometimes hear them in woods 

 and orchards where they are abundant, the effect 

 is singularly beautiful, and gives the idea of a con- 

 versation being carried on by a set of human beings 

 of arboreal habits (not monkeys) with glorified 

 voices. Listening to these blackbird concerts, I 

 have sometimes wondered whether or not they 

 produced the same effect on others' ears as on mine, 

 as of people talking to one another in high-pitched 

 and beautiful tones. Oddly enough, it was only 

 while writing this chapter that I by chance found 

 an affirmative answer to my question. Glancing 

 through Leslie's Riverside Letters, which I had 

 not previously seen, I came upon the following 

 remarks, quoted from Sir George Grove, in a letter 



