56 



ORGANS OF VOICE. 



happens, strange to say, that a bird might utter notes even 

 after its head was cut off. It is astonishing what powers and 

 varieties of notes this simple pipe is capable of producing. 

 A good deal depends on the construction of the windpipe 

 itself; and several, as the Duck tribe, are very curiously 

 formed. It usually consists of a straight tube, of a stiff horny 

 character, sometimes of uniform diameter throughout, at other 

 times gradually swelling towards the middle, or with roundish 

 enlarged cavities, as in the Tufted and Golden-eyed Ducks, 

 though these enlargements are more frequently at the end of 

 the tube. The first of the figures on p. 55 represents the tube, 

 the second the horny cavity, and the third, twisted windpipe, 

 is that of the Crane, which is singularly bent, as it enters 

 within the breast-bone ; the cleft end is the internal termina- 

 tion ; the other, its junction with the mouth. 



It would be needless to dwell upon the infinite variety of 

 notes of birds, but a few of the most striking deserve notice. 



In this country we 



find, indeed, few peculi- 

 arities; but, neverthe- 

 less, there are some. 



Thus, everybody 

 knows that Jackdaws, 

 Starlings, and Magpies 

 may be taught to speak 

 words like Parrots ; 

 but near a clergyman's 

 house, in jSTorthampton- 

 shire, a blackbird was 

 in the habit of crowing 

 constantly, as accurately as a common cock, and nearly as 

 loud. Perched upon the top bough of an ash-tree, it might be 

 seen crowing away ; occasionally indulging in its natural song, 

 but this only for a second or two, for it soon began again to 

 crow ; and when the cocks from a neighbouring poultry-yard 

 answered it, the little bird seemed delighted, and seemed as if 

 it was trying to rival them in the shrillness of its note. It 



The Blackbird. 



