XLV.] OF SELBORNE. 127 



LETTER XLV. 



TO THE HONOURABLE DAIft'ES BARRINGTON. 



FROM what follows, it will appear that neither owls nor cuckoos 

 keep to one note. My musical friend remarks that many (most) 

 of his owls hoot in B flat ; but that one went almost half a note 

 below A. The pipe he tried their notes by was a common half- 

 crown pitch-pipe, such as masters use for the tuning of harpsi- 

 chords; it was the common London pitch. 



A neighbour of mine, who is said to have a nice ear, remarks 

 that the owls about this village hoot in three different keys in 

 G flat, or F sharp, in B flat and A flat. He heard two hooting 

 to each other, the one in A flat, and the other in B flat. Do 

 these different notes proceed from different species, or only from 

 various individuals ? The same person finds upon trial that the 

 note of the cuckoo (of which we have but one species) varies in 

 different individuals ; for, about Selborne wood, he found they 

 were mostly in D : he heard two sing together, the one in D, the 

 other in D sharp, which made a disagreeable concert ; he after- 

 wards heard one in D sharp, and about Wolmer Forest some in 

 C. l As to nightingales, he says that their notes are so short 

 and their transitions so rapid, that he cannot well ascertain their 

 key. Perhaps in a cage, and in a room, their notes may be more 

 distinguishable. This person has tried to settle the notes of a 



1 The editor of the edition of 1822 remarks that the cuckoo begins early 

 in the season with a tray or third, next to a fourth, then a fifth, after which 

 his voice breaks without attaining a sixth ; a very old observation, however, 

 seeing it is the subject of an epigram in the scarce black letter " Epigrams 

 of John Heywood," dated 1587 : 



" Use maketh maistry, this hath been said alway ; 

 But all is not alway as all men do say. 

 In April, the koocoo can sing her song by rote, 

 In June of tune she cannot sing a note : 

 At first koocoo, koocoo, sing still can she do ; 

 At last kooke, kooke, kooke, six kookes to one coo." 



