ARE BIRDS SINGERS OR WHISTLERS?* 



N"OT a little discussion has arisen among the dissect- 

 ors as to the anatomy of bird song. Into this 

 controversy I shall not enter at least, not in 

 a controversial spirit but shall recount only what may 

 be regarded as the best and latest results of scientific 

 research. How does a bird produce the melodious notes 

 that emanate from his throat? Are they manufactured 

 far down in the trachea, or only at its anterior opening? 

 Are they voice tones or flute tones? These questions will 

 be answered as we proceed to examine the bird's lyrical 

 apparatus without going into wearisome detail, or mak- 

 ing use of many difficult scientific terms, which are the 

 bane of the general reader. 



Let me begin at the upper end of the avian singing 

 machine that is, with the mouth, including the bill, 

 the lips of which are called mandibles. Just as the move- 

 ments of the human lips have much to do with the modi- 

 fications of the human voice, so the opening and closing 

 of the bird's mandibles exercise a modifying influence 

 upon avicular tones. If it were not so, the feathered 

 minstrel would not keep his mandibles in such constant 

 motion during his lyrical recitals. You will notice that 

 whenever he desires to strike a very high and loud note 



*Reprinted by permission from "Our Animal Friends." 



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