melodists are amongst those put to me 

 by both young and old after my lectures, 

 and contain a good deal of food for re- 

 flection : Why do some birds sing by 

 night as well as by day after they have 

 mated? Why do some birds cease to sing 

 as soon as their young ones are hatched, 

 and others continue practically all the 

 year round ? Why does a caged Skylark 

 sing blithely in a dingy alley, where he 

 has no mate to attract, no rival to 

 challenge, nor any apparent condition 

 of life to induce a feeling of happiness ? 

 Why does a Skylark practise its notes 

 on the ground more during the closing 

 than the opening part of the season ? 

 How do birds know of a coming change 

 in the weather and sing joyously to fore- 

 tell it long before man, with all his 

 acquired experience, is aware of the 

 fact ? Why do some winged melodists, 

 such as the Blackbird for instance, sing 

 the best during a shower of rain ? Is it 

 in anticipation of an increased supply of 

 food ? Would a chick that had never 

 heard the song of its own species be able 

 to sing it when it grew up ? 



No answer to many of these interesting 

 questions that are constantly cropping 

 up will be found in any ornithological 



