131 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THE EVOLUTION OP BIRD-SONG. 

 By Charles A. Witchell. 



In July and August, 1890, I published in 'The Zoologist' 

 two articles on the Evolution of Bird-Song. They were the 

 result of a considerable amount of patient observation ; and, 

 although they contained many surmises of a more or less valueless 

 character, they also included many statements founded on fact 

 and embodying hitherto unknown (or misstated) records of the 

 construction of songs, and of racial similarities of voice. I should 

 like to defend these articles from hasty criticism. Mr. Warde 

 Fowler, in his ' Summer Studies on Birds and Books,' in the 

 course of two pages (55-57), adverts (seemingly in some haste) 

 " to a theory, lately propounded in ' The Zoologist,' which would 

 explain all songs as imitations, either of the utterances of other 

 birds, or of inarticulate sounds which are constantly obtruded on 

 the bird's ear. The writer of these articles has made a most 

 painstaking analysis of many of the best-known songs ; his per- 

 severance is admirable," &c. Then why not do him the justice 

 to quote him without misleading error ? What I wrote was that 

 "the call-note, being more or less the result of imitation, would 

 be influenced by other sounds familiar to the bird ;" and that is 

 a perfectly justifiable surmise, supported by the observations of 

 Daines Barrington and other authors. I further described how 

 several species construct songs by uttering their call-notes many 

 times in succession (and how many birds repeat certain notes many 

 times in succession) in their songs. I believe I was the first writer 

 to call attention to this fact. Mr. Fowler writes of the songs of 

 Buntings (op. cit. p. 157) : — " They consist of a quick succession 

 of notes, varying slightly in tone and pitch with different species, 

 and possibly developed from a primitive sound indicating invita- 

 tion or alarm." Exactly : it was to this theme that I called 

 attention in 'The Zoologist' (1890, pp. 238-9) in the article on 

 "Bird-Song and its Scientific Value," which Mr. Fowler read with 

 so much interest and appreciation ! 



He further "quotes" as follows : — " He suggests, for example, 

 that the Song Thrush began by imitating the sound made when a 

 snail-shell is being broken against a stone ; from this humble 

 beginning, used perhaps as an invitation to others to come and 

 feast on snails, it has gradually developed its splendid song." 



