Vol 'iso8 XV ] Strong, The Voice of Birds. 135 



note or do we have more than one note? If more than one note 

 occurs, how many? Is the song relatively intricate or simple? 

 Do the notes come in rapid succession? May they be grouped and 

 how? The first notes of the song of the Song Sparrow, for instance, 

 form a distinct group with a pitch, quality, loudness, and tempo 

 which are exceedingly characteristic for the bird. They at once 

 suggest the species to anyone familiar with the song, before the 

 balance of the song is produced. 



The description of that portion of the Song Sparrow's song 

 which follows the opening group of notes is difficult, and very 

 variable results are obtained by different students. Even though 

 the attempts are not uniformly successful as descriptions of the 

 song, the efforts involved are worth while for the student. 



The occurrence of accents or stresses must be noted. I have 

 found these especially important in studying the songs of warblers, 

 for instance. The songs of the Robin, Red-eyed Vireo, Baltimore 

 Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak are more or 

 less indistinguishable to beginners. I find that the study of 

 variations in accent, stress, and grouping of notes helps greatly in 

 learning to distinguish the songs of these birds. 



The song of the Winter Wren is notable for its unusual com- 

 plexity and duration. As I have heard this song in northern 

 Michigan and Wisconsin, a group of notes which occurs at the end 

 is peculiarly characteristic and helpful in teaching others to learn 

 to recognize the song. It consists of a series of very thin and 

 rapidly repeated notes with a decided diminuendo at the end. 

 There is a tendency to "sharp," i. e., to rise slightly in pitch to- 

 wards the end of the series. The last notes at the ordinary dis- 

 tance one hears the song are barely audible, and the whole song 

 seems to fade out into silence. 



These methods are not only useful for students, but they are the 

 only schemes which I have found worth while for my own studies 

 of bird voice. 



