BIRDS, SONGS OF. 



89 



extend over the range of an octave. It is ac- 

 cidental if some of the tones correspond now 

 and then with our natural or chromatic scale, 

 for they are quarter-notes or perhaps still 

 smaller fractional divisions of whole notes of 

 the diatonic scale. The tones are struck off 

 with great force and rapidity, for it is one of 

 the bird's bravura passages. 



2. The trill as produced by the canary and 

 the nightingale is not a part of the repertoire 

 of the mocking-bird. He has instead, however, 

 a magnificent shake which he can command at 

 any pitch of his voice, and which is unequaled 

 even by that of the blackcap. 



3. The piping tones are of varied altitude, 

 volume, and timbre. In the main they corre- 

 spond to the flute-notes of the nightingale, but 

 they resemble more nearly certain clarionet- 

 tones. They are very fine notes, and as smooth 

 as the whistle of the blackbird or the mellow 

 pipe of the Virginia cardinal. 



4. The canary-tones are sometimes mistaken 

 for imitations of the canary, but are true 

 mocking-bird notes. They are very delicate 

 and acute sounds, more thread-like often than 

 the finest canary-tones, and coming from so 

 large a bird they both surprise and amuse. 



5. The gutturals are forcible and rough tones, 

 which form a rude setting for the more brill- 

 iant parts of the bird's song. They have been 

 compared to the rubbing together of bits of 

 sand-paper or to the sound of a grindstone in 

 use, and, like other native tones, they have 

 been mistaken for imitations, being likened in 

 this instance to the creaking of a rusty hinge. 

 They correspond to the rattle of the nightin- 

 gale, but have not the same musical character. 



6. Almost all the inflected tones are preceded 

 by a brief series of notes, which are short, 

 rapid, and pitched generally lower than those 

 to which they serve as a prelude. The series 

 contains from three to twelve notes, and is 

 followed by a long, modulated tone which com- 

 pletes the phrase, and in turn is followed by a 

 very perceptible pause. Another series of short, 

 rapid notes and then a long inflection, and again 

 a pause occurs; and in this manner a great 

 part of all the singing is conducted. Unfortu- 

 nately, the phrases are so short and the pauses 

 so distinct as to rob the song of that continu- 

 ous nature which is so impressive in the night- 

 ingale's performances. 



7. The modulated tones constitute the chief 

 charm of the mocking-bird's song. They are 

 prolonged intonations expressing every musical 

 conceit and every shade of feeling of which 

 the bird is capable, and they extend through- 

 out the compass of his voice and display every 

 quality of his vocal organ. They are by turns 

 plaintive and gay, serious and comic, defiant 

 and caressing, and are so free from effort and 

 so spontaneous that they strike the hearer with 

 wonder and admiration. In the combination 

 of a given number of notes the nightingale has 

 more ingenuity, but in the modulation of single 

 tones the mocking-bird has unequaled tact. 



Finally, in assigning to the mocking-bird 

 his just rank among song-birds it must be con- 

 sidered that his musical style is broad, and his 

 taste almost universal. He takes the whole of 

 nature for his song-book, and borrows not 

 alone from the birds of the air ; the rippling 

 stream, the rustling leaves, the sighing wind, 

 and all sounding things, animate or inanimate, 

 yield him inspiration. 



The Skylark (Alauda arvensis). Numberless 

 poetic lines have been written about this 

 "minstrel of the sky," and literary favors 

 have been about equally lavished upon him 

 and the nightingale. The two birds differ to- 

 tally as to the time, place, and manner of their 

 song. One prefers the dimness of the night, 

 and the other the full blaze of the noontide 

 sun ; one seeks the closest shade, and the other 

 the open expanse of the skies ; one sings while 

 perfectly still, and the other while in rapid 

 flight toward the sun ; one is the most pathet- 

 ic of songsters, and the other is the most joy- 

 ous of warblers. The skylark is by nature 

 both bold and gay, and in his native fields he 

 fights and sings the live-long day. His music 

 is as sprightly as an Irish jig or a Scottish 

 hornpipe, and he 'dashes along at such a rate 

 that it is almost impossible to follow the quick 

 windings of his song. The air seems to be 

 full of musical vibrations, and it sounds at 

 times like two or three birds singing together, 

 and distantly reminds one of a bagpipe with 

 chanter and drones in full blast. There is a 

 pleasing, low, humming sound, which serves as 

 an accompaniment, to his beautiful high tones, 

 and his rippling song is only broken by an oc- 

 casional brief pause. It is not difficult to un- 

 derstand the great popularity of the skylark, 

 for he has two most delightful qualities 

 sprightliness and variety. A careful study of 

 his vocal performances leads to several unex- 

 pected and interesting conclusions. In the 

 first place, the seeming maze of his musical 

 sounds can be reduced to a few fundamental 

 tones ; secondly, the range of his voice, which 

 one would suppose very great, judging from 

 his success in song, is found to be relatively 

 very limited ; and, finally, the whole genius of 

 the bird and the secret of his musical supe- 

 riority may be described as an incomparable 

 faculty of composing much out of little the 

 ability to combine a few notes into an endless 

 variety of musical phrases. Four fifths of all 

 his singing is done within the narrow limits of 

 three or four notes of the diatonic scale, and it 

 is a question whether the utmost range of his 

 voice is not included within a single octave. 

 All these facts are obscured by the rapidity 

 and variety of his combinations of notes, and 

 popularly he is ranked as second only to the 

 nightingale in song. The principal component 

 tones of the skylark's song are as follow : 



1. The continuous warble is the strain most 

 constantly heard, and has a superficial resem- 

 blance to the roll of the canary, but it is radi- 

 cally different in its formation. It is neither a 



