142 IDLE DAYS IN PATAGONIA 



warbler resembles that of the song-thrush. I do 

 think that the thrush's song often resembles that 

 of the mocking-bird referred to, also that it would 

 scarcely be an exaggeration to say that all the 

 music of the song-thrush might be taken out of the 

 Calandria mocking-bird's performance and not be 

 very greatly missed. 



The desire to say something on this subject was 

 strong in me at that time, for, leaving aside the 

 larger question of the bird music of South Amer- 

 ica, I could not help thinking that these observers 

 had missed the chief excellence of the songsters 

 known to me. But I had no title to speak ; I had 

 not heard the nightingale, song-thrush, blackbird, 

 skylark, and all the other members of that famous 

 choir whose melody has been a delight to our race 

 for so many ages; I was without the standard 

 which others had, and being without it, could not 

 be absolutely sure that a mistake had been made, 

 and that the opinion I had formed of the melo- 

 dists of my own district was not too high. Now 

 that I am familiar with the music of British song- 

 birds in a state of nature the case is different, and 

 I can express myself on the subject without fear 

 and without doubt. But I have no intention of 

 speaking in this place of the South American bird 

 music I know, comparing it with that of England. 

 And this for two reasons. One is that I have 

 already written on this subject in Argentine 

 Ornithology and The Naturalist in La Plata. The 

 second reason is because bird music, and, indeed, 



