BIRD-SONGS. 37 
more expressive of happiness. Many of them 
were entirely new and strange, although the 
familiar pewee was introduced among the rest. 
As I listened, I felt it to be an occasion for 
thankfulness that the delighted creature had 
never studied anatomy, and did not know that 
the structure of his throat made it improper for 
him to sing. In this connection, also, I recall 
a cardinal grosbeak, whom I heard several 
years ago, on the bank of the Potomac River. 
An old soldier had taken me to visit the Great 
Falls, and as we were clambering over the rocks 
this grosbeak began to sing; and soon, without 
any hint from me, and without knowing who 
the invisible musician was, my companion re- 
marked upon the uncommon beauty of the song. 
The cardinal is always a great singer, having a 
voice which, as European writers say, is almost 
equal to the nightingale’s; but in this case the 
more stirring, martial quality of the strain had 
given place to an exquisite mellowness, as if it 
were, what I have no doubt it was, a song of 
love. | 
Every kind of bird has notes of its own, so that 
a thoroughly practiced ear would be able to dis- 
criminate the different species with nearly as 
much certainty as Professor Baird would feel 
after an examination of the anatomy and plum- 
age. Still this strong specific resemblance is 
