BIRDS AT THEIR BEST 31 



song. They perch in a tree in company, like birds 

 of paradise, and no sooner does one open his beak 

 than all burst out together, and their singing strikes 

 on the sense in a rising and falling tempest of con- 

 fused sound. But it may be added that though 

 these two songs are marked " indistinct " in the 

 list, they are not very indistinct, and become less 

 so when I listen mentally with closed eyes. 



In conclusion, it is worthy of remark that the 

 good voices, as to quality, and the powerful ones, 

 are not more enduring in their images than those 

 which were listened to appreciatively for other 

 reasons. Voices which have the quality of ventrilo- 

 quism, or are in any way mysterious, or are suggestive 

 of human tones, are extremely persistent ; and such 

 voices are found in owls, pigeons, snipe, rails, grebes, 

 night- jars, tinamous, rheas, and in some passerine 

 birds. Again, the swallows are not remarkable as 

 singers compared with thrushes, finches, and other 

 melodists ; but on account of their intrinsic charm 

 and beauty, their interesting habits, and the senti- 

 ment they inspire, we listen to them emotionally ; 

 and I accordingly find that the language of the five 

 species of swallows I was formerly accustomed to 

 see and hear continues as distinct in my mind as 



