286 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



little diver, the Long-tailed Duck of our northern 

 coasts (Harelda glacialis), speak of its " song." 



Song, it must be understood, is quite a con- 

 ventional term when used in the ordinary way ; 

 technically it means any noise which is not a call- 

 note ; thus the Cock's crow is just as much a song 

 as the Nightingale's musical efforts. With short 

 simple songs like the Cock's crow and the Chaffinch's 

 short outburst, the development is instinctive ; 

 but anything more complicated has generally to be 

 learnt from others of the species, and the result of 

 this is that a hand-reared bird, if uneducated, 

 sometimes turns out a most extraordinary jumble 

 in which no trace of the proper song can be detected. 

 Thus, an old school friend of mine, Mr. C. Bard- 

 well Clarke, brought up a young Linnet, which, 

 reared in a town, developed no Linnet notes at all, 

 but sang a jumble of the Starlings' whistles and the 

 chattering of the Sparrows ; and conversely, a 

 Sparrow brought up with singing birds will produce 

 a noise we can accept as song, instead of the " chip, 

 chip, cheer " which seems to be the natural and 

 spontaneous outpouring of the Sparrow's soul. 



The Brambling, by the way, is an example of 

 another Finch which sings disgracefully for a 

 member of a family including such talented creatures 

 as the Linnet and Canary, for the only note in his 

 song is " zee-e," an expression of emotion which 

 can be bettered even by Pheasants and waterfowl. 



It is only among Passerines and Parrots, however, 

 that the power of mimicry occurs, and hence only 



