Mr. J. BlackwalPs Ornithological Notes. 23 



accusation of plagiarism is erroneous, for those fancied imitations 

 are merely resemblances, and are common to the songs of the 

 entire species, which certainly would not be the case if they were 

 factitious. In short, from the general character of the localities 

 habitually frequented by the sedge warbler, it can seldom have 

 an opportunity of hearing some of the birds whose notes it is 

 supposed to mimic, while those of the black-headed bunting, 

 Emberiza schoeniclus, which is frequently associated with it, are 

 never introduced into its song, that I am aware of, though from 

 their style and tone they appear to be perfectly well adapted to 

 its vocal powers and particularly easy of acquisition, being few 

 in number and often repeated. 



When resident in Lancashire I enjoyed excellent opportunities 

 of minutely investigating the habits of the jay, the magpie and 

 the starling, species whose talent for mimicry is susceptible of a 

 high degree of cultivation, the last possessing this faculty in a 

 more perfect state of development perhaps than any other British 

 bird ; but, with the exception of individuals educated in captivity, 

 I never detected the slightest display of their imitative powers ; 

 and this remark applies with equal force to the bullfinch, which 

 has very few natural notes, can scarcely be said to sing at all, 

 and, while it retains its liberty, is not known to mimic any 

 sound whatever ; yet whose great docility, retentive memory and 

 flexibility of voice render the acquirement of artificial tunes an 

 easy task. 



That persons of lively imagination should mistake the singu- 

 lar tones comprised in the song of the starling for imitations of 

 various inarticulate sounds ; the imperfect notes of the blackbird 

 for endeavours to rival the crowing of the domestic cock ; or one 

 of the spring- calls of the great titmouse for a successful effort to 

 counterfeit the noise made in sharpening a saw, may cease to 

 be regarded with surprise, when the attempts of some ornitho- 

 logists to convey to the minds of their readers ideas of the songs 

 of birds by the arbitrary arrangement of vowels and consonants 

 are taken into consideration. 



A blackbird, after numerous unsuccessful endeavours to execute 

 its song, which it was prevented from doing by some organic 

 defect, abandoned the undertaking, and continued throughout 

 the entire season to repeat, at intervals, two notes in quick suc- 

 cession, the only musical tones apparently to which it was ca- 

 pable of giving expression. The bird usually took its stand on 

 a branch of a large Portugal laurel nearly opposite to my sitting- 

 room window, and the frequent recurrence of these two notes 

 soon suggested a familiar name to which they bore a resemblance 

 sufficiently close to excite a momentary suspicion that it might 

 be the result of imitation. That name I shall abstain from 



