vi On the Songs of Birds 157 



recommend themselves to the judgment of cautious 

 inquirers. It would be more possible, and on the 

 whole more useful, to examine a single group of 

 closely -allied songs, with the object of finding in 

 them some common ancestral element an archetypal 

 song, the character of which has survived throughout 

 the genus, while particular species have been gradu- 

 ally varying and modifying it. As song is without 

 doubt a valuable specific character, it might surely 

 be worth while to trace its relation, as well as that 

 of plumage and structure, to the generic characters 

 of the whole group. Take, for example, the songs 

 of the Buntings ; they all resemble each other very 

 closely those at least with which I am personally 

 acquainted. They consist of a quick succession of 

 notes, varying slightly in tone and pitch with dif- 

 ferent species, and possibly developed from a primi- 

 tive sound indicating invitation or alarm ; but one 

 or two species have added to these quick notes others 

 which are longer and more musical, and which trans- 

 form the utterance into something more like a 

 musical phrase. The Yellowhammer has done this 

 with one note, the Eeed Bunting with several, the 

 Corn Bunting with a melancholy wheeze, which may 

 some day grow into a pleasant sound ; but the Girl 

 Bunting and the Meadow Bunting (Emleriza Cia) 

 have added nothing to the quick notes as yet, and 

 seem rather to have devoted themselves to improv- 



