ON THE SINGING OF BIRDS. 347 



" them, and every one a note higher than 

 " another." 



Ligon appears, from other parts of his work, 

 to have been musical; but I should doubt 

 much whether he was quite sure of these 

 quarter intervals, so as to speak of them with 

 precision. 



Some passages of the song in a few kinds of 

 birds correspond with the intervals of our mu- 

 sical scale (of which the cuckow is a striking 

 and known instance) : much the greater part, 

 however, of such song is not capable of musical 

 notations. 



This arises from three causes : the first is, 

 that the rapidity is often so great, and it is also 

 so uncertain when they may stop, that we can- 

 not reduce the passages to form a musical bar, 

 in any time whatsoever. 



The second is, that the pitch of most birds is 

 considerably higher* than the most shrill notes 



* Dr. Wallis is mistaken in part of what he supposes to be 

 the cause of shrillness in the voice, " Nam ut tubus, sic tra- 

 " chea longior, & strictior, sonum efficit magis acutum." 

 Grammar, p. 3. 



The narrower the pipe is, the more sharp the pitch, as he 

 rightly observes ; but the length of the tube hath just the con- 

 trary effect, because players on the flute always insert a longer 

 middle-piece, when they want to make the instrument more flat. 



