IMITATION AND MIMICRY. 335 



European birds, that the species distinguished for 

 singing seldom learn to imitate human speech; while 

 those whjch do not sing, such as the jay, the magpie, 

 and the parrot, are well known as successful imi- 

 tators. Although, however, this appears to be true, 

 as a general rule, some singular exceptions are upon 

 record in the case of individual birds. Mr. Syme, 

 for instance, tells us of the red-breast, that he knows 

 a lady who possesses one that very distinctly pro- 

 nounces " How do ye do ?" and several other words, 

 taught it by repeating them often while giving it 

 some favourite food*; and Pliny mentions, that 

 " Agrippina the empress, wife to Claudius Caesar, 

 had a blackbird or a throstle, at what time I com- 

 piled this book, which could counterfeit man's speech, 

 a thing never seen nor known before." Pliny states 

 farther, that the two young Caesars, Drusus and 

 Germanicus, had " sundry nightingales taught to 

 parle Greek and Latin : moreover, they would study 

 upon their lessons, and meditate all day long; and 

 from day to day come out with new words still, yea, and 

 were able to continue a long speech and discourse f." 

 The most extraordinary instance on record, how- 

 ever, of the possession of this faculty, is given on 

 the testimony of a friend, who witnessed the circum- 

 stances, by the celebrated naturalist Gesner, though 

 the story appears so very marvellous that we cannot 

 but suspect it to be exceedingly exaggerated : 

 " Whilst I was at Ratisbon," says Gesner' s friend, 

 " I put up at an inn, the sign of the Golden Crown, 

 where my host had three nightingales. What I am 

 going to relate is wonderful, almost incredible, and 

 yet is true. The nightingales were placed separately, 

 so that each was shut up by itself in a dark cage. It 

 happened at that time, being the spring of the year, 

 when those birds are wont to sing indefatigably, that 



* Brit. Song Birds, p. 126. 

 i Holland's Plinie, i, 693. 



