74 ORGANS OF VOICE. 



gating birds, or those that live together, act in the 

 same manner. Every sportsman knows how difficult 

 it is to get within gunshot of a large flock of these 

 birds, though they appear to be so busily employed 

 in picking up their food in a meadow, that it might 

 be supposed they saw nothing else". 



The fact is, they very often do see nothing, and 

 think of nothing, beyond the food they are in search 

 of; because, on the bough of some neighbouring tree, 

 a good look out is kept by one of the party, and the 

 moment this sentinel Crow, or Rook, gives out his well- 

 known caw of alarm, or the Fieldfare its peculiar jar- 

 ring cry, away go the main body, beyond the reach of 

 the fowler, who thought he could escape observation 

 by lurking behind a tree, or stealing behind a hedge- 

 bank. A person familiar with the notes of birds 

 has no difficulty whatever in distinguishing between 

 the sounds of pleasure and alarm. If he hears the 

 Swallows screaming in a certain note, he is as well 

 aware that cats or hawks are about, as if they could 

 tell him so in common language. We once happened 

 to hear a loud outcry amongst a parcel of Sparrows, 

 Tomtits, and Chaffinches; the noise was evidently 

 not their usual note of pleasure, neither was it the 

 clamorous scream they utter when fighting. The 

 bustle occurred within a yard of our window, too 

 near for a Hawk to venture; neither was there a cat 

 within sight, nothing of the sort;* but still the din 

 increased, and the bush shook again with fluttering^ 

 of wings, and clacking of tongues: when, at last, we 

 espied a pair of inquisitive eyes, and a little sharp 

 snout poked out from the twigs, at the bottom of the 

 bush. It was a weasel, which, on seeing that it was 



