( 226 ) 

 ON THE SONG OF THE WOOD-WARBLER. 



BY 



H. W. MAPLETON, b.a., m.b.o.u. 

 In May last, while availing myseK of a very good oppor- 

 tunity of observing a Wood- Warbler in full song my 

 attention was called to the fact that this bird has two 

 distinct songs. As I do not remember to have seen this 

 fact recorded in works on British birds, I thought it 

 possible that a few notes on the subject might prove 

 of interest. Of course, everyone knows that in the songs 

 of accomplished vocalists, such as the Nightingale' and 

 the Song-Thrush, many distinct phrases are utilized in a 

 variety of combinations, but in the case of the Wood- 

 Warbler there are two distinct songs, which bear no 

 resemblance to each other, either in tone or phrasing, 

 and which, when the bird is singing well, are very 

 rarely mixed. The first of these is the ordinary song, 

 which needs no description here. 



The second song, which is much rarer than the first, 

 varies considerably in different individuals as regards 

 the number of syllables, though the tone is constant. 

 In the case of the first bird I had under observation, on 

 May 16th, it consisted of from 9-12 syllables — the 

 average number in this case being 10. It is sweet, and 

 rather plaintive in tone, falling gradually from F sharp 

 to E flat, or possibly D. [This interval I am not certain 

 about, as I verified it on the pianoforte from memory 

 only.] In character it resembles to a certain extent 

 the ecstatic " tail-end " of the full song of the Tree-Pipit. 

 The last and lowest note of this song seems to be the 

 same as that used as a call-note when the young are 

 fledged and flying about in family parties. 



On May 17th I came across another Wood- Warbler, 

 and timed the bird, roughly, for ten minutes, during which 

 it sang No. 1 — the ordinary song — over fifty times, and 

 No. 2 only about five times. Neither on this, nor on the 

 previous occasion, did I hear these two songs mixed, 

 though once or twice the bird would utter three notes of 



