78 STARLING, &C. 



melody, and expresses a great variety of gentle 

 modulations, superior, perhaps, to any of our war- 

 blers, the nightingale excepted. Mr. Symes thought 

 that its mellow notes are equal, if not superior 

 in richness of tone, to any in the nightingale's 

 song, and in this opinion I perfectly agree with 

 him. Mr. Sweet says, that the black- cap is a real 

 mocking bird, imitating the note of any bird it 

 chances to hear sing. Few people, indeed, are 

 aware that many of our British birds may be so 

 called. There is at this time a wild Starling to 

 be seen and heard amongst the trees near the 

 Cumberland Lodge gardens, which imitates the 

 notes of the blackbird, thrush and other birds, and 

 also the hooting of an owl. This he does so 

 exactly, that persons thought an owl was hooting 

 in the day time, till the starling was detected in 

 the act of doing it. Blackbirds certainly may be 

 called mocking birds, and I have also heard a Jack- 

 daw imitate noises he has heard.* It is probable 

 that if more attention was paid to the notes of birds, 

 which are suffered to remain unmolested about 

 farm yards and frequented places, many of them 

 would be found to be imitative. It is clear, I 



* A friend observed a young Jay in one of the aviaries in the 

 Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, warbling in a soft under tone 

 the song of the Robin. This the bird continued to do for several 

 minutes, during successive times. He directed the attention of 

 his companion to the bird, and also that of the keeper of the birds, 

 who had not previously observed it. 



