not belonging to their own songs. I have heard them throw in 

 those of the chewink, both at the middle and ending of their 

 songs; also that of the robin, blue bird, phebe bird, and purple finch. 



Near a creek which is much frequented by water birds, I have 

 heard during the past three summers a sparrow interject in his 

 otherwise fine song the high, sharp notes of the peetweet. Dr. 

 Placzek, in the Popular Science Monthly, speaks of a yellow thrush 

 taken from the nest and domesticated, which, of its own accord, 

 commenced crowing like a cock. "I sometimes heard, early in 

 the morning, a clear, melodious cock crowing that seemed to 

 come from a distant barn-yard. Going into the library one 

 morning, where the bird was, I sat still in a further corner of 

 the room till things began to get lively in the cage. I could see 

 him without being seen. Soon he found his voice, and sounded 

 the cock crow which I had so often heard before without sus- 

 pecting its real origin. Had I not seen the bird's mouth open 

 and his throat vibrating, I should still have thought the same 

 came from a distance. When he saw me he broke off in the 

 middle of the crowing. There is nothing particularly remark- 

 able in the crowing of itself, for many birds imitate the sounds 

 made by other animals. The curious fact about it was, that the 

 bird would not crow in my presence, and would always stop 

 when any one appeared to witness the execution. I attributed 

 his conduct to a feeling of shame, or to a sense of unfitness of 

 that method of expression. Have we not in this another proof 

 of 'the possession of animals of a psychical quality which it has 

 been used to regard as peculiarly and distinctively human ? " 



The blue-jay has considerable power of imitation, and frequent- 

 ly indulges in mimicry. One kept by a family whom I was vis- 

 iting, would say " whoa" to the horse, sufficiently plain to stop 

 the animal. If the bird was by the window, in sight of the gate, 

 he was sure to call out " whoa " whenever the family horse was 

 driven to the door. The jay never- uttered the word to any 

 horse except that of his master. 



In its wild state I have never heard a bobolink make a hissing 

 noise, yet a tame one which we had in our possession, when dis- 



