TEE SONGS OF BIRDS. 139 



or the other of these three headings; and, curiously 

 enough, in every case the song is indicative of the char- 

 acter of the bird or vice versa. Unquestionably there is 

 a close connection between the song and temperament ; 

 in fact, it may be laid down as a law that the latter de- 

 cides the character of the former. This has, I think, a 

 strong bearing on the question of the origin of the songs 

 themselves, as I do not entertain the suggestion that some 

 birds were created songsters, while others were denied 

 this power. Rather, it seems to me that, from cries of 

 alarm, and quick, hearty chirps expressive of satisfaction, 

 there have been evolved the melodious notes of our most 

 accomplished songsters. Why may not this be so ? Cer- 

 tainly by analogous processes our present civilization has 

 produced in time the elaborate music of the present 

 day, from the harsh, discordant attempts at melody on 

 the part of existing savage races, just as they were the 

 outcome of still ruder sounds in which man's primeval, 

 pre-human ancestry indulged. 



Let us now consider for a moment one fact in regard 

 to these songs that separates them from the other utter- 

 ances of birds, and that is, that the bird sings solely for 

 the pleasure of listening himself, or of being listened to 

 by his fellows, and the song bears no relation whatever 

 to any of his preceding or subsequent movements. From 

 this it would appear that the song of a bird is an expres- 

 sion that gives pleasure to the bird itself and to others 

 of its kind, which latter fact is recognized by the singer, 

 and thus affords him additional satisfaction. In brief, 

 the reason that birds sing is precisely the same as that 

 which induces man to cultivate music, which, by the way, 

 was originally exclusively vocal. 



"We shall now turn to the other class of utterances of 

 these same birds, and carefully note them down in all 



