PAIRING. 79 



rubbing his head along the wires of the cage. With 

 all these disadvantages, nevertheless, in the personal 

 appearance of the siskin, added to his inferiority of 

 song, (rendered worse by the harsh cackling note 

 which he seldom failed to give as a finale to his 

 most melodious passages, contrasting strongly with 

 the merry musical twinkle of the goldfinch's finale,) 

 the latter received nothing for his assiduities, but a 

 loud scolding or sometimes a hearty drubbing, the 

 canary being by far the most powerful bird, and 

 being never loth to let him feel the sharpness of her 

 beak. The siskin being evidently the favourite, we 

 had the goldfinch removed ; but as his cage was 

 hung up near the other, he continued to give himself 

 all the airs which had already proved so unavailing. 

 But the siskin, precisely like the wild black-cap 

 already mentioned, almost immediately relaxed in 

 his assiduities to please ; arid, though he was not in- 

 attentive during the incubation which followed, yet he 

 seldom strove to out-sing the goldfinch, but warbled 

 in a subdued under tone of voice, as much as to 

 indicate that he cared not how well or how loud his 

 old rival might now sing*. 



Montagu was of opinion that birds which have not 

 paired wander about continually till they find a mate, 

 in support of which he adduces several curious facts 

 which fell under his observation. In the instance of 

 the nightingale, if by accident the female is killed, the 

 male, who has become silent about the end of June, 

 will resume his song and will continue to sing late 

 in the summer or till he finds another mate. " This,'* 

 continues Montagu, " we have proved by taking 

 the female on her nest, when the mate assumed his 

 usual vpciferous notes, which attracted another 

 female." It would appear, indeed, that in birds 

 which pair, nature has produced nearly an equal 

 *J.R. 



