330 Burjis and the Song-Birds of Scotland. [Sess. 



differ in quality. The song of the chaffinch is well known. 

 It is loud and clear and insistent, ringing through the woods. 

 It is one of the most characteristic of our song-birds. John 

 Burroughs, the great American ornithologist, on his visit to 

 this country, pronounced the chaffinch to be the most pre- 

 dominant of our sylvan choristers. I am not quite sure that 

 he is altogether right in that. But the chaffinch, it must be 

 admitted, is one of our most powerful and frequent songsters. 

 The song of the brown linnet you may have heard, but you 

 may not. It is in this part of Scotland, on the whole, a rare 

 songster. Its song is not remarkable for strength or clear- 

 ness. Eather is it sweet and mellow, and without special 

 compass or power. A careful examination of Burns' allusions 

 to the lintwhite convinces me that it was the chaffinch he 

 meant. One of his earlier references occurs in his poem on 

 " The Falls of Bruar." He there alludes to it as the " lint- 

 white clear." Now clearness is a distinguishing quality of the 

 chaffinch's song ; it is sweetness that characterises the song of 

 the linnet. Other references reveal that in the experience of 

 Burns the lintwhites were frequent birds. As, for example, 

 where he says — » 



" The lintwhites in the hazel braes, 

 DeUghted, rival ithers' lays." 



All this goes to show that the chaffinch rather than the linnet 

 was the lintwhite of his poetry. 



It seems curious that the blackbird did not appeal more 

 strongly to Burns than it apparently did. One wonders if he 

 uniformly made a distinction between the song of the mavis 

 and that of the blackbird. May he not have confused the 

 songs of these two birds, as many others have done ? So far 

 as I am aware, he only refers to the blackbird on one or two 

 occasions. And yet few of our bird-songsters equal, much 

 less surpass, that golden song poured forth from a golden bill. 



The blackcap, with its exquisite warblings, of course de- 

 cidedly beats it ; the song of the mavis is much more varied ; 

 the lark's song is a greater outpouring of melody. But the 

 blackbird's song, for mellow sweetness and liquid fulness, 

 holds its own with any one of them. There is a rich, sugared, 

 flute -like quality in its song that is very winning indeed. 



