I92 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 



imitate with great success the sounds of other 

 birds. They often do this so perfectly as to de- 

 ceive the species to which the sounds belong. 

 The songs of birds, as they are called, appear to 

 afford them great pleasure, and they often indulge 

 in them, I think, as a pastime ; the effect is pleas- 

 ing to the ear because of its cheerfulness, and it 

 is not discordant or wanting in richness of tone 

 in most birds. From the little study I have 

 given them, I think it safe to say that the range 

 of sounds possessed by any one bird is quite lim- 

 ited and their notes are strictly monophones. 

 This last remark does not apply to the sounds 

 made by parrots and birds of that kind. 



The parrot is perhaps possessed of the greatest 

 vocal power of any other bird. He imitates al- 

 most the entire range of sounds that are uttered 

 by all other birds combined, and can also imitate 

 the sounds of human speech from the highest 

 to the lowest pitch of the human voice. In ad- 

 dition to all this, he imitates many noises, such 

 as the sounds of sawing wood, the slam of a door, 

 and the whistling of the wind. The vocal range 

 of the parrot is perhaps the most marvellous of 

 all the vocal products of the animal kingdom. 

 One strange thing, however, that I observed 



