Notes of Birds. 311 
the power; and being willing to remove 
every circumstance on which the most fasti- 
dious inquirer could fix adoubt, I placed the 
eggs of a redbreast in the nest of a chaffinch, 
and removed the eggs of the chaffinch to 
that of the redbreast; conceiving, that if I 
was fortunate in rearing the young, I should 
by this exchange insure an unexceptionable 
experiment, the result of which must be 
deemed perfectly conclusive by all parties. 
In process of time theseeggs were hatched, 
and I had the satisfaction to find that the 
young birds had their appropriate chirps.* 
When ten days old they were taken from 
their nests, and were brought up by hand, 
immediately under my own inspection; es- 
pecial care being taken to remove them to a 
distance from whatever was likely to influence 
their notes. At this period, an unfortunate 
circumstance, which it is needless to relate, 
destroyed all these birds, except two,—a fine 
cock redbreast, and a hen chaffinch; which, 
at the expiration of twenty-one days from 
the time they were hatched, commenced the 
calls peculiar to their species. This was an 
important point gained, as it evidently proved 
* Mr, Barrington defines the chirp to be the first sound a young bird 
utters es a cry for food, It consists of a single note, repeated at short 
intervals, and is common to nestlings of both sexes. 
