450 r-HILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1773. 



indeed may be asked, why the wild skylark, with these powers of imitation, ever 

 adheres to the parental note; but it must be recollected, that a bird when at 

 liberty is for ever shifting its place, and consequently does not hear the same 

 notes eternally repeated, as when it hangs in a cage near another. In a wild 

 state therefore the skylark adheres to the parental notes; as the parent cock 

 attends the young ones, and is heard by them for a considerable time. 



It may be asked, how birds originally came by the notes which are peculiar to 

 each species. The answer however to this is, that the origin of the notes of 

 birds, together with its gradual progress, is as difficult to be traced as that of the 

 different languages in nations. The loss of the parent cock at the critical time 

 for instruction has doubtless produced those varieties, which are in the song of 

 each species; because then the nestling has either attended to the song of 

 some other birds; or perhaps invented some new notes of its own, which are 

 afterwards perpetuated from generation to generation, till similar accidents 

 produce other alterations. The organs of some birds also are probably so 

 defective, that they cannot imitate properly the parental note, as some men can 

 never articulate as they should do. Such defects in the parent bird must again 

 occasion varieties, because these defects will be continued to their descendants, 

 who will only attend to the parental song. Some of these descendants also may 

 have imperfect organs; which will again multiply varieties in the song. The 

 truth is, that scarcely any two birds of the same species have exactly the same 

 notes, if they are accurately attended to, though there is a general resemblance. 

 Thus most people see no difference between one sheep and another, when a large 

 flock is before them. The shepherd however knows each of them, and can 

 swear to them, if they are lost; as can the Lincolnshire gosherd to each goose. 



But we may not only improve the notes of birds by a happy mixture, or 



introduce those which were never before heard in Great-Britain ; as we may also 



improve the instrument with which the passages are executed. If, for example, 



any bird fancier is particularly fond of what is called the song of the canary bird, 



which however must be admitted to be inferior in tone to the linnet, it would 



answer well to any such person, if a nestling linnet was brought up under a 



canary bird, because the notes would be the same, but the instrument which 



executes them would be improved. We learn also, from these experiments, 



that nothing is to be expected from a nestling brought up by hand, if he does 



not receive the proper instruction from the parent cock: much trouble and some 



cost is therefore thrown away by many persons in endeavouring to rear nestling 



nightingales, which, when they are brought up and fed at a very considerable 



expence, have no song worth attending to. If a woodlark, or skylark, was 



educated however under a nightingale, it follows that this charge, which 



amounts to a shilling per week, might be in a great measure saved, as well as 



the trouble of chopping fresh meat every day. A nightingale, again, when 



i 



