114 HiaHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 



above all other creatures are they gifted with voice both 

 in respect to quantity and quality. The little quavering 

 sparrow {Sjnzella pusiUa) can be heard half a mile away; 

 the simple strain of the veery {Turdus fuscesens), though 

 of such exquisite sweetness, reaches the ear twice this 

 distance, while the Campenero is said to send its clear 

 bell-like voice to the distance of five or six miles. Few 

 sounds of the feathered tribe are harsh or discordant : 

 nearly all of their utterances are pleasing; many of 

 their songs are pure melody ; certainly nothing can sur- 

 pass in clear liquid sweetness the notes of some of the 

 song birds. The highest praise awarded to Jenny Lind, 

 the finest singer ever known, was that " she could 

 warble like a bird." Byron, with his critical apprecia- 

 tion of all harmonies, gives as the superlative of sweet 

 sounds, " The hum of bees, the voice of girls, the song 

 of birds." 



Some of the physical senses are strong and active in 

 the feathered tribe, and especially the aesthetic element 

 in the sense of seeino; and hearino:. 



Birds have a very keen perception of color, and some 

 species appear to receive as pure pleasure from its grati- 

 fication as man himself. Undoubtedly we are as much 

 indebted to the indulgence of this taste in birds, for the 

 high color of some of our fruits, as we are to the bees 

 and other insects for the bright colors of most of our 

 entomophalous flowers. In choosing their mates those 

 of the most brilliant plumage are first selected. The 

 most highl}^ colored fruits and berries are first taken, 

 though other specimens may be equally mellow, sweet 



