^°'i9i2"^'^] Moore, Least Sandpiper in the Magdalen Islands. 221 



The second quality, that of pathos, was perhaps the chief char- 

 acteristic of the songs and to a lesser extent of the calls. An 

 examination of the musical structure reveals the reason for this. 

 All three songs are definitely related to the minor key. Song No. 2 

 is distinctly in the key of A minor, song No. 1 in the key of F 

 minor, and No. 3, though beginning in E^ major, drops its "third" 

 a half tone at the end, as if inclining toward the minor effect. 

 So too, even the call records, No. 4 and 5, are distinctly minor, 

 consisting of two notes, B and G*, which limit the intervals of a 

 minor "third." It is a matter of popular knowledge that sad or 

 pathetic songs are generally written in minor keys and so it is not 

 surprising to find these pathetic bird songs rendered in just the 

 best way to produce such an effect. 



The finest bit of singing I heard occurred at the close of the nest- 

 ing season. Returning from Bird Rock, July 1st, we passed by 

 the nest of the field bird, which had sung song-record No. 2. As 

 we walked along this flight song piped overhead and was sung over 

 and over again with a tremulous zest. Alternating with it, was 

 repeated for long intervals an excited call of two notes. We 

 glanced up and for the first time beheld two adult Least Sand- 

 pipers together! Alternately they flapped and soared and circled 

 about in a rapturous fashion. For several minutes the alternation 

 of song and call continued without break of any kind. Sometimes 

 the song was given three times consecutively and followed by as 

 many as thirty or forty repetitions of the call, this in turn to be 

 followed by the song again. The second note of the call was 

 strongly accented, as indicated by the mere musical outline above 

 (Song record No. 4). This call of two notes precisely corresponds 

 to Nuttall's description of the "collecting cry of the old birds 

 calling together the brood," which be rendered into the syllables, 

 "pe-dee, pe-dee, pe-dee, etc." The accent gives it an emphasis 

 of joy not to be misunderstood and the whole performance is 

 decidedly ecstatic. Turning to the nest I found it, as I suspected, 

 empty and I was willing to believe that the unusual ecstasy was 

 not unrelated to the passing of the great red-letter incident in the 

 rearing of young, the leaving of the nest. 



Focussing my glasses on the rapturous pair, I confirmed another 

 supposition of mine, that only one bird was doing the singing. 



