FAMILY FrlnglllldK. 



there is no tune to his song- , one can claim 



only a suggestion of a tune! But we can always r 1\ 

 upon the bird's rhythm; it is utterly unlike that of the 

 Robin, and possesses a smooth and graceful flow not to 

 be excelled by the best of our woodland songsters, the 

 Thrushes not excepted. In Arlington Ileights, Mass., I 

 obtained a record of one of the most even-flowing songs 

 of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak I have ever heard; it 

 shows a far greater range of voice than Mr. Cheney's 

 record, but, as usual, there was no accuracy of pitch. 



* = ob 



A 



Again, on Linnaean Street, Cambridge, I obtained an- 

 other smooth and even record scarcely inferior: 



\Modenato 



Thegrtictnotes,here,inc(iedtedn indefinite felly the voice. 



Nearly all the songs show at the end a rising inflection 

 of the voice, which is given in a most enticing and per- 

 suasive manner. Only the Purple Finch can equal the 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak in this bit of pure sentimental- 

 ity, and in the case of both birds the effect is certainly 

 very telling. 



To the rising and falling inflections of this Grosbeak's 

 voice, it is therefore reasonable to suppose one may at- 

 tribute the sentimental character of the song. Such an 

 element is wholly absent in the Robin's music, and on 

 that account alone from a musician's point of view the 

 songs of the two birds must certainly be considered ab- 

 solutely dissimilar. 



Most writers on birds are not less than enthusiastic 



134 



