46 ON THE NOTES OF BIRDS. 
It would be difficult, nay impossible, to convey a 
distinct idea of the songs of these birds by any verbal 
description; indeed the delightful associations they 
excite, with the adventitious circumstances of time, 
distance, situation, &c., so greatly influence their effect, 
that even the best imitations are utterly inadequate to 
produce any thing equal to it. 
Mr. Barrington, in his essay, has attempted to con- 
struct a Table by which the comparative merits of 
British Singing Birds may be examined ; but as he 
does not appear to have formed a correct estimate of 
the songs of some species, and as his Table is inac- 
curate in other respects, besides being too limited, I 
have endeavoured to supply one (p. 47) which will be 
more comprehensive, and, I trust, less objectionable, 
making, as he has done, the number 20 the point of 
absolute perfection. 
This long catalogue of birds, most of which, it 
appears, are to be found in the immediate neighbour- 
hood of Manchester, composes the feathered choir 
which enlivens the pastoral scenery of England with 
a rich and varied melody of song, which probably is 
not surpassed in any known part of the globe. 
