28 SINGING-BIRDS. 



vary their notes, no individual ever departs. The 

 theme of the Song-Sparrow is easily written on the 

 gamut, out of which the bird makes many variations ; 

 that of the Robin's song is never more than slightly 

 varied ; but 1 have not been able to detect in the medley 

 of the Bobolink any theme at all. 



The song of birds is innate. It is not learned, as 

 some have supposed, from parental instruction ; else 

 why should not a Cowbird sing like a Vireo, which is 

 sometimes its foster parent, and would undoubtedly, if 

 this were the usual custom, be as willing to teach the 

 young interloper to sing as to supply it with food ? Birds 

 of the same species have by their organization a dispo- 

 sition to utter certain sounds when under the influence 

 of certain feelings. If the young bird learned" of its 

 parents, nature would have made the female the singer 

 instead of the male, who, I am confident, would not 

 trouble himself to be a music-teacher, and, if he were 

 willing to take this task upon him, would not select 

 the males only to be his pupils. If we should see re- 

 peated instances of the exemplification of their mode of 

 instruction, if we should see the young birds standing 

 around an old cock Robin while he delivers his song, 

 note by note, for the young to imitate, we should 

 have some reason to believe that all male singing-birds 

 are music-teachers as well as performers. But after all, 

 would an old Bobolink ever have patience to repeat his 

 notes slowly to his young for their instruction ? 



Many birds are, however, imitators of sounds, and will 

 sometimes learn the songs of other birds when confined 

 in a cage near them. The Bobolink when caged near a 

 Canary readily learns its song, but in a wild state he 

 never deviates from his own peculiar medley. Nature 

 has provided each species with notes unlike those of 

 any other as one of the means by which they should 



