98 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



fifteen seconds, he would bark again, and so on 

 until he had had his fill of music for the time. 

 The barking got on the invalid's nerves, and he 

 sent the bird away. "It was either that," he 

 said, "or losing my senses altogether." 



As all or most singing birds learn their songs 

 from the adults of the same species, it is not 

 strange that there should be a good deal of what 

 we call mimicry in their performances: we may 

 say, in fact, that pretty well all the true singers 

 are mimics, but that some mimic more than others. 

 Thus, the starling is more ready to borrow other 

 birds' notes than the thrush, while the marsh- 

 warbler borrows so much that his singing is 

 mainly composed of borrowings. The night- 

 ingale is, perhaps, an exception. His voice excels 

 in power and purity of sound, and what we may 

 call his artistry is exceptionally perfect; this may 

 account for the fact that he does not borrow 

 from other birds' songs. I should say, from my 

 own observation, that all songsters are interested 

 in the singing of other species, or at all events, 



