262 HABITS OF BIRDS. 



marked in birds reared from the nest, that the females 

 will record, as it is termed, the first rehearsal (inex- 

 pertum carmen, as Statins gives it in his 4 Sylvae,') 

 warbling in the low preluding manner peculiar to all 

 birds some time before coining into full song. This 

 was particularly the case with the green-birds just 

 mentioned, and one female green-bird will at present 

 record in a similar manner, while her brother of the 

 same age begins to sing in good earnest*. 



Mr. Sweet, the well-known botanical writer, and 

 author of the ' British Warblers/ says that " females 

 seldom sing : I had a female red-start, which sang a 

 little ; and female bulfinches sing as frequently as 

 the males.'' Again, Mr. Sweet says, u I have had 

 several female birds, which never attempted to sing ; 

 but now I have two that sing frequently ; one is a 

 female black-cap ; she sings a note peculiar to her- 

 self, and not the least like the male, or any other bird 

 with which I am acquainted. I kept her several 

 years before she began to sing. I have also a female 

 willow-wren, that sings nearly as much as the cock ; 

 this bird was bred up from the nest, arid did not sing 

 at all the first year. Her note is quite different from 

 that of the male, but resembles it sufficiently to indi- 

 cate that it belongs to the same species j-.' 1 " In 

 nightingales," says M. Montbeillard, " as in other 

 species, there are females which enjoy some prero- 

 gatives pf the male, and particularly participate of 

 his song. I saw a female of that sort which was 

 tame ; her warble resembled that of the male, yet- 

 neither so full nor so varied ; she retained it until 

 spring, when resuming the character of the sex, she 

 exchanged it for the occupation of building her nest 

 and laying her eggs, though she had no mate. It 



* J. R. t Magazine of Nat. Hist. i. 346. 



