184 li'i^d - ^ ore 



wliosf i)i(lin;ir\' soii^;; ol tnulicr, taulirr, trdt/icr, is iiitntdiu fd l)\' some vviltl 

 ecstatic iiolt'S llial one would iirvcr jjjiicss were |tnidiKC(l 1)\' (lie satiu" bird. 

 The llif^lil soMjj; is }j;ivcii usu:dly jusl :i( dusk, or allcr d;irk, and (lie sinj!,cr olleii 

 niounls liij^li nhoxc Ihc ( ives duriiij^ the perlormance. Some of (he most im- 

 |)i('ssi\(' momeiils thai tlie vviilei^ has I'vei" spent haxc i»een in the forest at 

 (hisk vvlien tlie silence was inteii ii|)(ed only l)y the hi^il like cadence of an 

 occasional Hermit Thrush and the wild, ringing, ecstatic- llight-song of an 

 Ovenbird. 



The singing of birds at night, l)y its very incongruity, always awakens our 

 interest. The European Nightingale has been landed since ancient times 

 lu'cause of its noit miial out bursts, but it is not alone in this habit. Aside from 

 (he Owls and VVhi|) poor-wills, (hat one naturally exi)ects to be active at night, 

 during the height of (he mating season one may hear the song of almost any 

 bird ringing out or\ (he nigh( air as though the songster could not contain 

 himself. N'ellow breasted Chats are |)articularly noisN a( nigliL and, on the 

 marshes, thc> Wrens, the Rails, and the (lalliiuiles seem to take on renewed 

 ac ti\ i(y when darkness falls. Robins, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and 

 other laniiliar birds of(en cause our gardens to echo in the dead oi night, and 

 the Mockingbird of oin southern states is said to do i(s (Inest singing on 

 moonlit nigh(s. 



JUrds frecjuendx become greatly attached to certain perches from which 

 (hey sing, the Robin to a cer(ain gable, (he Mockingbird (o a cer(ain chimney, 

 (he Thrasher to a certain (rc-e top, etc. 'I'he accompanying photograph ol* a 

 Swamp Sparrow was seemed b\ obser\ ing that (he bird always came to a 

 certain reed in the marsh to sing. I'o om- eyes it locyked just like a thousand 

 other stalks, but the Sparrow had formed the habit of always singing from (his 

 stalk and the presence of the camera, did not de(er i(. The same might be said 

 of (he photograph of the Wren. The RulTed Grouse returns to the same log 

 (o drum da\ at(er da\' and season af(er season, and Flickers and other Wood- 

 pec kers often return (o (he same" (in roof or o(her resounding surface, year 

 af(er year. 



The drununing of (he Crouse and the tattoos of the Woodpeckers are not 

 what could be called songs, but (hey are substitutes for song and serve exactly 

 the same purpose. Another mec hanical sound that takes the place of song is 

 the 'winnowing' of the Woodcock, a sound produced by the air rushing through 

 the outer primary leathers as the bird clashes toward earth on a zigzag course 

 from a great height. The three outer primaries are narrowed and stilTened for 

 this very purpose, and their vil)ration produces a weird but harmonious sound 

 when' heard in (he gathering dusk or after night has fallen. — \. A. Allen. 



QUESTIONS 



1 . W'liy do l)ir(ls sing? 



2. Do all birds sing, and what cH>ns(itutc's a Iruo singing bird? 



3. Name live l)ircis tliat arc singing when they arrive at your locality in the spring. 



