94 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



boldly attempts to imitate the whistle of the neigh- 

 bour's boy, or the noisy chatter of the angry blue- 

 jays. And then suddenly he begins a melody of 

 such wild and barbaric feeling that all the primal 

 emotions of the human race seem to be recorded, 

 and finally he ends with a song that has the charm 

 of a Chopin Nocturne. There is an emotional 

 power in the mocker's night song which is inde- 

 scribable in musical terminology. One cannot 

 describe the motives, phrases and periods in telling 

 of the weird and eerie cascade notes of this chief 

 of songsters. 



No bird is so famed for its singing as the night- 

 ingale, and all the praise it has received is well 

 merited. Poets of all ages have paid tuneful 

 tribute to its art, for no one can deny its right to 

 a prominent place among the world's greatest 

 song birds. There is an exquisite sweetness in its 

 tones so remarkably appealing that it has led many 

 persons into the error of calling the nightingale 

 melancholy, when the contrary is really true. Ex- 

 ultation is evident in the quality of its song, and its 

 rendition betrays no sign of gloom. The nightin- 

 gale is possessed of wonderful execution and in- 

 terpretative skill. Besides the "full-throated ease" 

 and excellence of its song, it has a most splendid 

 use of the crescendo^ which it deftly employs on a 



