AND OTHER BIRDS 37 



occupied. Its repetition was endless, but not 

 monotonous; and the long whine rose and fell 

 as the bird's lungs permitted and as its excite- 

 ment waxed and waned. 



The birds sitting or in occupation were in 

 turn answered by those just arrived, "Too-woo- 

 woo," the last syllable drawn out into a long 

 howl; then "Too-woo-eeh," rising in its 

 terminal syllable to the screech of a caterwaul- 

 ing cat. Then came the great effort of all, 

 "Too-woo-oo-oo-o," expressive of I know not 

 what agony of love and longing, and with the 

 additional "oo-oo-o" drawn out as a dog 

 nodding to the moon extends his long howl. 



This "Too-woo-oo-ing" was kept up for hours, 

 each serenading Petrel repeating his perform- 

 ance at short intervals. 



Never have I heard such extraordinary 

 singing of birds; and ten times worse weather 

 would not have been too high a price to pay for 

 that evening's entertainment. 



