INTRODUCTION. 



the male is again heard, but not so frequently as at first ; he 

 never rambles from hearing, and seldom from her sight, and if 

 she leaves the nest, he accompanies her with soft notes of love. 



" The continuation of song in caged birds by no means proves 

 it is not occasioned by a stimulus to love ; indeed, it is probable 

 that redundancy of animal spirits from plenty of food and arti- 

 ficial heat may produce the same result, whereas wild birds have 

 it abated by a commerce with the other sex ; but even in their 

 natural state, birds may be forced to continue their song much 

 longer than usual. A male Red-start made his appearance near 

 my house early in spring, and soon commenced his love-tuned 

 song. In two days after a female arrived, which for several days 

 the male was continually chasing, emitting soft interrupted 

 notes, accompanied by a chattering noise. This sort of courting 

 lasted for several days. Soon after, the female took possession of 

 a hole in a wall close to my house, where she prepared a nest, 

 and deposited six eggs. The male kept at a distance from the 

 nest ; sometimes sung, but not so loud nor so frequently as at 

 first, and never when he approached the nest. When the eggs 

 had been sat on a few days, I caught the female. The male did 

 not miss his mate immediately ; but on the next day he resumed 

 his vociferous calls, and his song became incessant for a week, 

 when I discovered a second female ; his note immediately 

 changed, and all his actions as before described returned. This 

 experiment has been repeated on the Nightingale with the same 

 result ; and a Golden-crested Wren, who never found another 

 mate, continued his song from the month of May till the latter 

 end of August. On the contrary, another of the same species, 

 who took possession of a fir-tree in my garden, ceased its notes 

 as soon as the young were hatched." 



In his comments upon the above, Mr. EENNIE expresses an opi- 

 nion, that birds sing most frequently from joy and buoyancy of 

 spirits ; and not unfrequently in triumphant defiance of rivalry 

 or attack. He says, " I have a Red-breast who will sing out 

 whenever I snap my fingers at him, and the Sedge-bird sings 

 when a stone is thrown into the bush where he may be." 



According to SYME, the Song of birds may be divided into six 

 distinct utterances -.-first, there is the call-note of the mate in 

 spring ; second, the loud, clear, and fierce notes of defiance ; third, 

 the soft, tender, full, melodious love-warble ; foiirth, the notes 

 of fear, when danger approaches the nest ; fifth, the note of 

 alarm, or war-cry, when a bird of prey appears ; sixth, the note 

 the parent birds utter to their brood, and the chirp or note 

 of the young. This latter he again divides into two that 

 which the young birds utter while in the nest, and that after 

 they have left it. And to these several utterances, he adds the 



