AVICULTUBAL EXPERIENCES. 247 



The songs of birds are not only often overrated, but when 

 represented in words are usually quite unrecognizable. When 

 you come to think of it, there are very few consonants which can 

 be whistled, and, although a singing bird can give some idea of 

 a t sound, a ch, or a ph in his notes, such utterances as tell and 

 spink are utterly beyond him. In writing down the song of a 

 bird in words, if you wish to convey any idea of the notes to your 

 readers, you should first whistle in imitation of the bird, and 

 then so far as possible write down the notes. 



The songs of the Thrushes are capable of endless variation. 

 I doubt if there were ever two Song-Thrushes or two Blackbirds 

 which whistled alike, and yet, as a rule, the songs of these birds, 

 of the Robin, and even of that most accomplished bird, the 

 Mocking-bird {Mimus polyglottus), are unmistakable. But if 

 you hand-rear a Blackbird or Thrush, not permitting it to hear 

 its wild song, its notes all go wrong, and either result in a 

 miserable Gregorian chant, or something akin thereto, or to a 

 noisy jangle of sound which is simply appalling. I once had a 

 hand-reared Song-Thrush which had been brought up in a 

 poultry-yard, and subsequently placed in a room where some 

 Canaries were kept. The song was so noisy and penetrating 

 that I gladly sold the bird to a publican, who was wild to secure 

 it. The natural performance of the Song-Thrush is not brilliant, 

 but cheerful and exhilarating ; yet I have heard exceptionally 

 gifted Thrushes more than once. 



Unless you can place the young of any of the Thrushes 

 where they can hear their natural song, it is a mistake to hand- 

 rear them ; my hand-reared Nightingales never sang a note. It 

 is therefore evident that the songs of these birds are not in- 

 stinctive ; they are not handed down from father to son as 

 natural gifts, but are taught as children are taught. But this 

 does not hold true of all birds, unless we believe, as some have 

 asserted, that certain birds learn their parent's song while yet in 

 the egg — a notion which to me seems absurd. 



I have found that hand-reared Sky-Larks, however young 

 they may be taken from the nest, sing the wild song perfectly, 

 although they usually add parts of the songs of other birds 

 which they may hear ; and I am inclined to believe that the true 

 song-birds, with the exception of the Mocking-bird and one or 



