Notes of Birds. 307 
blending any of their own notes with them ; 
and, indeed, on this solitary circumstance, 
slight and inconclusive as it is, the entire 
weight of his arguments is rested. The in- 
stances of the goldfinch acquiring the song 
of the wren, and Mr. Matthews’ linnet learn- 
ing to articulate one or two short sentences, 
without having even the calls of their species, 
which this author seems to think so decisive, 
prove no more than his own experiments ; 
which, as they were made, for the most part, 
with birds remarkable for their imitative 
powers, were certainly by no means well 
adapted to bis purpose, As for the gold- 
finch, Mr. Barrington heard it only once, and 
then but fora short time; and that no de- 
pendance could be placed on any report of 
the people to whom it belonged, is evident 
from their supposing that it sang its own 
notes. ‘These are circumstances that power- 
fully tend to invalidate almost every thing 
of importance that has been advanced 
respecting this bird. 
In order to ascertain whether nestlings 
when taken very young will or will not have 
the calls and songs of their species, they 
should be kept in situations where they have 
no opportunity of learning any sounds that 
