VANDALISM IN SONG-BIRDS 249 



Collared Dove stoop to her mate when he was 

 cooing, and the House- Mynah in India similarly 

 respond to the chattering song and bowing move- 

 ments of the male, though I have also seen her turn 

 on him for displaying, like the hen Sparrow. 



In spite of their powers of hearing being similar 

 in character to our own, and their voices often 

 pleasing us, birds have no taste in music, as we 

 understand it, though we must also remember that 

 savage or primitive music does not appeal to us, 

 nor do we as adults enjoy the horrible noises, such 

 as slate-pencils " scrooped " on slates, which seem 

 to please children. 



But it is at least curious that birds are so wilfully 

 perverse, as we should call it, in their selection of 

 sounds to respond to and imitate ; a Canary can 

 be got to sing in answer to the working of a sewing- 

 machine or the fizzling of a frying-pan, and will 

 often spoil its song by the interpolation of a Spar- 

 row's chatter ; while the various mocking species 

 of birds, such as the true Mocking-bird of North 

 America (Mimus polyglottus) and the Shama of 

 India (Cittocincla macrura) persistently degrade their 

 beautiful songs by imitating harsh cries. I have 

 also heard the Indian Orange-headed Ground- 

 Thrush (Geocichla citrina), a species which combines 

 the excellences of the Song-Thrush and Blackbird, 

 irritatingly repeat a most trivial and monotonous 

 note it had picked up in the Zoo aviaries. 



Some birds seem to be able to hear notes in- 

 audible to us ; thus, the Starling when singing 



