OUR FOREST CHORISTERS. 201 



female, now for two years ; and sings in the winter as well 

 as in the summer, especially when the sun shines brightly, 

 and the winds whistle in the trees around the dwelling ; 

 and now, since his character is matured, he is a sprightly, 

 happy, gentlemanly sort of a bird. 



Boston Traveler 1851. 



BIRD-NOTES. 



1. The winged tribes have various sounds and voices, 

 adapted to express their various passions, wants, and feel- 

 ings — such as anger, fear, love, hatred, hunger, and the 

 like. All species are not equally eloquent ; some are copi- 

 ous and fluent, as it were, in their utterance, while others 

 are confined to a few important sounds ; no bird, like the 

 fish-kind, is quite mute, though some are rather silent. 

 The language of birds is very ancient, and, like other an- 

 cient modes of speech, very elliptical : little is said, but 

 much is meant and understood. 



2. The notes of the eagle-kind are shrill and piercing, 

 and, about nest-making season, much diversified. The 

 notes of our hawks resemble those of the king of birds. 

 Owls have very expressive notes ; they hoot in a fine vocal 

 sound, much resembling the vox humana, and reducible by 

 a pitch-pipe to a musical key. This note seems to express 

 complacency and rivalry among the males ; they use, also, 

 a quick call and a horrible scream, and can snore and hiss 

 when they mean to menace. Eavens, besides their loud 

 croak, can exert a deep and solemn tone that makes the 

 woods to echo ; the low note of the crow sounds strange 

 and ridiculous ; rooks, in the breeding season, attempt 

 sometimes, in the gayety of their hearts, to sing, but 

 with no great success ; the parrot-kind have many modu- 

 lations of voice, as appears by their aptitude to learn hu- 



