322 
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APPENDIX. V. 
ling ealls; the yerking of these call-birds, there- 
fore, face to face, is a most extraordinary in- 
stance of contention for superiority in song. 
It may be also worthy of observation, that 
the female of no species of birds ever sings: 
with birds, it is the reverse of what occurs in 
human kind: among the feathered tribe, all the 
cares of life fall to the lot of the tender sex: 
theirs is the fatigue of incubation ; and the prin- 
cipal share in nursing the helpless brood: to 
alleviate these fatigues, and to support her un- 
der them, nature hath given to the male the 
song, with all the little blandishments and sooth- 
ing arts; these he fondly exerts (even after 
courtship) on some spray contiguous to the nest, 
during the time his mate is performing her pa- 
rental duties. But that she should be silent, is 
also another wise provision of nature, for her 
song would discover her nest; as would a gau- 
diness of plumage, which, for the same reason, 
seems to have been denied her. 
To these we may add a few particulars that 
fell within our notice during our enquiries among 
the bird-catchers, such as, that they immediate- 
ly kill the hens of every species of birds they 
take, being incapable of singing, as also being 
inferior in plumage ; the pippets likewise are in- 
discriminately destroyed, as the cock does not 
