8o BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



powerful music continuously, as the lark sings, 

 one sometimes wonders that something does not 

 give way to end the vocalist's performance and life 

 at the same instant. Some such incident was probably 

 the origin of the old legend of the minstrel and the 

 nightingale on which Strada based his famous 

 poem known in many languages. In England 

 Crawshaw's version is by far the best and is 

 perhaps the finest bird poem in our literature. 



The blackbird, like the thrush, sometimes borrows 

 a note or a phrase, and, like the thrush again, if 

 reared by hand he may become a nuisance by 

 mimicking some disagreeable sound and using it 

 by way of song. I heard of such a case a short time 

 ago at Sidmouth. The ground floor of the house 

 where I lodged was occupied by a gentleman who 

 had a fondness for bird music, and, being an invalid 

 confined to his rooms, he kept a number of birds 

 in cages. He had, besides canaries, the thrush, 

 chaffinch, linnet, goldfinch, and cirl btmting. I 

 remarked that he did not have the best singer of all 

 — ^the blackbird. He said that he had procured one, 

 or that some friend had sent him one, a very beau- 

 tiful ou^el cock in the blackest plumage and with 

 the orange-tawniest bill, and he had anticipated 

 great pleasure from hearing its fluting melody. 

 But alas ! no blackbird song did this unnatural 

 blackbird sing. He had learnt to bark like a dog. 



