ANIMAL VOICES 117 



come to in the scale of British animal life — ^little 

 need, or indeed could, be written, for the great 

 world of insect life is mostly silent. Mention need 

 only be made of the sibilous notes of the Grass- 

 hoppers and Crickets — which are not vocal efforts, 

 the sound being made by a sort of fiddle and bow 

 arrangement upon the body — and the buzzing of 

 the Bees and Wasps; the croak of the Frog and 

 Toad also deserve mention; whilst the apparent 

 muteness of Fishes and the lower forms of animal 

 life are worthy of note. 



For beauty of voice, our bird friends, of course, 

 excel beyond all other animals, and although some 

 efforts are harsh and discordant, others, as is so 

 well known, are characterised by their remarkable 

 loveliness. The Jay screams harshly when dis- 

 turbed; the beautiful Kingfisher utters a sharp 

 note which the young naturalist must be keen to 

 detect; the Doves coo; the Warblers, such as the 

 Nightingale, Garden Warbler, and Blackcap, are 

 to be reckoned among our finest songsters; and 

 the Blackbird, Song Thrush, Skylark, Tree Pipit, 

 Meadow Pipit, and others that need not be men- 

 tioned are capable of emitting songs that are the 

 joy of all those who have an ear which can appre- 

 ciate the music of the feathered choir. Some few 

 birds sing by night; the great majority, however, 

 sing by day, and are heard to best advantage in 

 the early morning. 



