SONGS. 191 



turning frequently with the muting of the young in 

 his beak, which is dropped at a distance from the 

 nest."* 



Plausible as this reasoning seems to be, it will 

 not be difficult to adduce numerous facts with which 

 it will not^accord. It is not, indeed, a correct state- 

 ment of the fact, to say that birds sing only during 

 the seasons of pairing and breeding, as Buffon and 

 Montagu assume. This is the case with the greater 

 number of the seed-eating song-birds, both wild and 

 tame; but not with the soft-billed birds. The red- 

 breast sings as merrily during sharp frost as in the 

 heyday of summer or in the mild sunshine of au- 

 tumn. A much smaller arid more delicate bird, the 

 wren (Anorthura communis), also sings in all weath- 

 ers during the autumn and winter, as well as the 

 little dunnock (Accentor modularis) ; and they are 

 frequently accompanied by the thrush and the black- 

 bird. Though the latter do not sing so long and 

 so frequently as in summer, this appears to be more 

 on account of the physical languor arising from a 

 precarious supply of food than from its not being 

 the pairing season. 



"We have one little bird," says Mr. Knapp, "the 

 woodlark (Alauda arborea), that in the early parts 

 of the autumnal months delights us with its har- 

 mony ; and its carols may be heard in the air com- 

 monly during the calm sunny mornings of this sea- 

 son. They have a softness and quietness perfectly 

 in unison with the sober, almost melancholy still- 

 ness of the hour. The skylark also sings now, and 

 its song is very sweet, full of harmony, cheerful as 

 the blue sky and gladdening beam in which it circles 

 and sports, and known and admired by all ; but the 

 voice of the woodlark is local, not so generally 

 heard from its softness, must almost be listened for 

 to be distinguished, and has not any pretensions to 



* Ornithological Diet., Intr* 1st ed. ; p. 476, 2d ed. 



