WHY BIRDS SING IN THE NIGHT. 215 



And when the moth flies hummingly through the recesses 

 of the wood, and the beetle winds his horn, what are the 

 notes of the birds but cheerful counterparts to those sounds 

 that break sweetly upon the quiet of their slumbers ? 



Wilson remarks that the hunters in the Southern States, 

 when setting out on an excursion by night, as soon as 

 they hear the mocking-bird, know that the moon is rising. 

 He quotes a writer who supposes that it may be fear that 

 operates upon the birds when they perceive the owls 

 flitting among the trees, and that they sing as a timid 

 person whistles in a lonely place to quiet their fears. 

 But if such be the case, Nature has implanted in them an 

 instinct that might lead to their destruction. Fear would 

 instinctively prompt them to be quiet, if they heard the 

 stirring of owls ; for this feeling is not expressed by 

 musical notes, but by notes of alarm, or by silence. The 

 moonlight may be the most frequent exciting cause of 

 nocturnal singing ; but it is not true that birds always 

 wait for the rising of the moon ; and if it were so, the 

 question still occurs, why a few species only should be 

 thus affected. 



Since philosophy cannot explain this instinct, let fancy 

 come to our aid, as when men vainly seek from reason 

 an explanation of the mysteries of religion they humbly 

 submit to the guidance of faith. With fancy for our in- 

 terpreter we may suppose that Nature has adapted the 

 works of creation to our moral as well as our physical 

 wants ; and while she has instituted the night as a time 

 of general rest, she has provided means that shall soften 

 the gloomy effects of darkness. The birds, which are the 

 harbingers of all rural delights, are hence made to sing 

 during twilight ; and when they cease, the nocturnal 

 songsters become vocal, bearing pleasant sensations to 

 the sleepless, and by their lulling melodies prepare us 

 to be keenly susceptible to all agreeable emotions. 



