25 



New York; while in some localities he is almost silent. Many of 

 our best singers do not sing at all in the lower latitudes, and during 

 their sojourn south are as silent as the cherry-birds, only lisping or 

 chirping notes, as unmusical as those of the English sparrow. 



Of the birds that remain longest with us, some of the earliest 

 broods commence singing in the later summer or early autumn, be- 

 fore migrating for the winter; these young singers often deceive the 

 listener, who believes their songs to be those of other birds. Some 

 of the young robins chirrup feebly; the song-sparrow often gets 

 about half his song; the little yellow-bird sings much like the young 

 canary, while the newly-fledged cat-bird will execute his song toler- 

 ably well. It is interesting to observe these young birds try to imi- 

 tate the little snatches of song of the parent bird. 



The young of birds that come late and leave early in the season, 

 such as the vireos, warblers, grosbeaks, bobolinks and thrushes, 

 give no sign of their musical capabilities until the following year; 

 and even if caged and kept here during the winter, will remain 

 nearly silent until the time for mating. 



Many birds possess considerable powers of ventriloquism. The 

 mellow notes of the cuckoo will sometimes appear to be a furlong 

 away, when, in fact, the bird may be in a tree not a rod distant. 

 Although the thrushes usually sing from low perches, the sound 

 seems to come from tree-tops. The vesper sparrow {Fringilla gra- 

 minea), will so modulate his song that one at first thinks it in a dis- 

 tant field, when it is on a fence-stake by the road-side. The field- 

 sparrow {Spizella pusilla), has often deceived me in the same way. 

 Cat-birds often sing their loud, voluble songs; but occasionally they 

 indulge in low, soft warbles, as sweet and tender as those of the 

 vireos. The song of a robin will often appear to be at a great dis- 

 tance when very near, or to be near when it is far off. The oven- 

 bird or golden-crowned thrush (Seiuri/s aurocapillus), has a remark- 

 able way of throwing its sharp, ringing notes to a great distance, and 

 will often startle one with the emphasis of his rapid, vibrating song, 

 each note shot out with a startling, explosive force, which leads the 

 listener to expect a large bird almost within reach; when, perhaps, 

 the little speckled-breasted, yellow-crowned singer, the smallest of 

 the thrushes, is many rods away. 



EUL. EUF. SOC. NAT. SCI. (4) JULY, 1881. 



