NOTICEABLE INCIDENTS 65 



cloud was swept away, and I heard the birds once 

 more resume their songs. 



There is no reason why we should not credit 

 birds with the possession of a sense of pleasure in 

 the aspect of their surroundings. Sterland seems 

 to have had some such idea when he wrote that the 

 song of the robin in autumn " lacks the joyousness 

 of spring, and the bird, in sympathy with the 

 departing season, seems to breathe a plaintive 

 and melancholy strain " (Birds of Sherwood Forest, 

 p. 63). At that period, especially on still days, the 

 song is often preceded by the utterance of a slow 

 succession of sad -sounding repetitions of the call- 

 squeak. " Many species which become silent about 

 midsummer resume their notes in September (or 

 October), as do the thrush, blackbird, woodlark, 

 willow-wren, etc. Are birds induced to sing again 

 because the temperament of autumn resembles 

 that of spring ? " (White's Selborne). These 

 autumn songs may be induced partly by an in- 

 clination towards love, although both robin and 

 starling often sing in August when quite alone ; the 

 former bird, however, in song obviously challenges 

 others to fight. It appears that only the young 

 larks, thrushes, and blackbirds of the year sing in 

 September or October. 



5 



