128 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. 



the early morning, his notes are extremely varied and 

 expressive. Here arc some of them : 



,0 \ ' Lje ie_! L_J ! * ^ r ' i . 



V/M V f ' ' 



5-0 We-c/ spink-ink-wheo-e-ah---gee-z-z-z-z-Z wKir-r 



But whether he is nearly related to the thrushes 

 or not, the fact remains that his songs are neither 

 of silver nor of gold ; and, figuratively speaking, 

 these precious metals are melted into music as soon 

 as the hermit and the Wilson thrushes open their 

 throats ! 



This reminds me of the fact that the voices of 

 birds are more varied and musical than those of any 



other creatures in the world. 



r\ 



Even the rooster has a tune- 

 ful crow 



The cat tribe roars and mews 

 and hisses ; that is all. But 



the birds ! is there any end 



i 



to their powers of vocaliza- 

 tion ? They can chirrup, chip, caw, whip-poor-will, 

 whistle, chick-a-dee, hoot, howl, cackle, crow, gobble, 

 quack, drum, cluck, chirp like crickets, mew like 

 cats, talk like human beings, cry like babies, squeak 

 like cart wheels ; in fine, beyond their own exten- 

 sive repertoire of musical and unmusical sounds, they 



r >. t t r. tr 



Cock- a-doo-dle do. 



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