TOICE AND SONG. 7' 



he had a mate. Then, again, we have the autumnal, and. even 

 the winter notes of the .Robin, long after the breeding season ; 

 and caged birds, if well fed and kept, will sing the greater part 

 of the year." 



No British naturalist appears to have paid greater attention 

 to this part of our subject than Colonel MONTAGUE, and his re- 

 marks thereupon are exceedingly interesting. " There is no 

 doubt," he says, "that birds in confinement will learn the song 

 of those they are kept with ; but then it is constantly blended 

 with that peculiar to the species. In the spring, the very great 

 exertions of the male birds in their vociferous notes are certainly 

 the calls to love ; and the peculiar note of each is an unerring 

 mark for each to discover its own species. If a confined bird 

 had learned the song of another, without retaining any part of 

 its natural notes, and was set at liberty, it is probable it would 

 never find a mate of its own species ; and even supposing it did, 

 there is no reason for believing the young of that bird would be 

 destitute of its native notes ; for if nestling birds have no innate 

 notes peculiar to their species, and their song is only learned 

 from the parent bird, how are we to account for the invariable 

 note each species possesses, when it happens that two different 

 species are bred up in the same bush, or in the contiguous one, 

 or when hatched or fostered by a different species ? The males 

 of song birds do not in general search for the female, but, on the 

 contrary, their business in the spring is to perch on some conspi- 

 cuous spot, breathing out their full and amorous notes, which, 

 by instinct, the female knows, and repairs thither to choose her 

 mate. This is particularly verified with respect to summer birds 

 of passage. The Nightingale, and most of its genus, although 

 timid and shy to a degree, mount aloft, and incessantly pour 

 forth their strains, each seemingly vieing in its lone, love-laboured 

 song, before the female arrives. No sooner does the female make 

 her appearance than dreadful battles ensue their notes are 

 changed ; their song is sometimes hurried through without the 

 usual grace and elegance ; and at other times modulated into a 

 soothing melody. The first we conceive to be a provocation to 

 battle at the appearance of another male ; the last, an amorous 

 cadence, or courting address. This variety of song only lasts 

 till the female is fixed in her choice, which is in general a few 

 days after her arrival ; and if the season is favourable, she soon 

 begins the task allotted to her sex. 



" The male no longer exposes himself as before, nor are his 

 songs heard so frequently, or so loud ; but while she is searching 

 for a secure place in which to build her nest, he is no less assidu- 

 ous in attending her with ridiculous gestures, accompanied with 

 peculiarly soft notes. When incubation takes place, the song of 



