MAY MUSES 123 



sings a full song when resenting the approach of 

 a neighbour ; and then some very pretty hawk- 

 like mounting and stooping may be observed, but 

 accompanied by the birds' usual music. 



Thus in many species the tone of love may be 

 also the tone of hate ; and our only means to 

 ascertain what is intended is to take into con- 

 sideration the general behaviour of the birds at 

 that time. And even then we may err ; for when 

 a melodious singer is perched in a tree or poised 

 on the wing, we cannot tell whether he is address- 

 ing a mate or an enemy. Unfortunately, it is not 

 alone among birds that the same tone is employed 

 towards both of these objects. 



Some singers, as the robin and the thrush, sing 

 when fighting with others of their own species, 

 but not when in conflict with other birds which 

 seems to imply that the song serves a useful 

 purpose in the former case and not in the latter ; 

 the exclamations being known to be understood in 

 the one, not in the other. And there are many 

 which do not sing at all in combat. The starling 

 is one of these ; it cackles when fighting, of what- 

 ever nature the opponent may be; and this is 



