33 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



and of the very peculiar character of the sounds 

 emitted, his song is frequently described by ornitho- 

 logists as mocking, defiant, scolding, angry, etc. 

 It seems clear that at different times the bird sings 

 from different exciting causes. When, undisturbed 

 by a strange presence, he bursts spontaneously into 

 singing, the music, as in other species, is simply an 

 expression of overflowing gladness ; at other times 

 the bird expresses such feelings as alarm, suspicion, 

 solicitude, perhaps anger, by singing the same song. 

 How does this come about 



I have stated, when speaking of the nightingale, 

 that birds in which the singing faculty is highly 

 developed sometimes make the mistake of bursting 

 into song when anxious or distressed or in pain, 

 but that this is not the case with the mocking-birds. 

 Some species of these brilliant songsters of the New 

 World in their passion for variety, to put it in that 

 way, import every harsh and grating cry and sound 

 they know into their song ; but, on the other hand, 

 when anxious for the safety of their young, or other- 

 wise distressed, they emit only the harsh and grating 

 sounds never a musical note. In the sedge-warbler 

 the harsh scolding sounds that express alarm, 

 solicitude, and other painful emotions, have also 

 been made a part of the musical performance ; 

 but this differs from the songs of most species, 

 the mocking-birds included, in the extraordinary 



