148 Slimmer Studies of Birds and Books chap. 



work I have already quoted. Having spent a great 

 part of his life among living creatures on the pampas 

 of La Plata, Mr. Hudson believes that singing and 

 the other performances wliich he describes so well 

 in his remarkable chapter on "Music and Dancing 

 in Nature" are not the result of sexual selection, 

 but are rather a perfectly spontaneous expression of 

 delight or comfort, such as we may all feel at times, 

 especially when we are young and have no great 

 anxieties. The marvel of the best songs of birds is, 

 indeed, their exquisite beauty and finish, and the 

 steady adherence of one species to a particular 

 typical strain. It seems to be otherwise with 

 creatures that cannot fly. I have known young men 

 whose animal spirits seemed to force them to make 

 a noise — even to howl and scream — for no particular 

 reason. So too with other creatures that walk upon 

 the earth ; they low and bellow, and neigh and roar, 

 in tones which are wholly inarticulate. But the 

 birds are freer, sprightlier, brighter in their whole 

 life ; their freedom and swiftness enable them to find 

 food, water, and sunshine wherever they will; and 

 this happier and keener life has in some of them 

 developed a choice and beautiful way of giving vent 

 to their joy. They have almost invented a language : 

 their voices are not really inarticulate. Each species 

 has its own tongue, in which the sexes dally and 

 converse and communicate with each other ; and 



