26 



Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. 



I have tried to copy the familiar Robin's 

 song many times, but liave discarded all at- 

 tempts as regards English words. Still the 

 following, as some observers may fanc}", 

 fairly describes the soft utterances : Jceeler- 

 'keeler-henry ; wUliam-ioilliam-henry ; imll- 

 iam henry Iceeler^ and so on indefinitely. 

 The Meadowlark in flying over the field or 

 wading about in the grass utters in a 

 plaintive key the words dear children. If 

 we pass near a marshy tract we hear the 

 Redwings uttering their quirk call-note, as 

 they fly above their nests in the rushes, or 

 the male ruffling himself on a branch will 

 issue his cher-e-e-e. From a clump of bushes 

 near come the notes ha-ioheecJiy, uttered 

 from four to nine times bv the Maryland 

 Yellows-throat. He then dives into the 

 brush and rank grass and gives us a series 

 of fine scolding notes. As we pass he 

 challenges us with tacHe-me^ taclde-me, or 

 as you may call it witchety-ivitchety . The 

 Bronzed Grackles are calling to one another, 

 span]i\ sjoank^ and now and then a lustrous 

 male grinds out, schleranch^ repeating it 

 three times, to which Mrs. Grackle replies 

 with schle-ree-scree-scree^ which is the extent 

 of their musical ability. 



Away out in the marsh are a couple of 

 those queer birds, the Thunder-pumper, as 

 the greater Bittern is often called. The 

 name is taken from their peculiar move- 

 ments made when singing, so to speak. 

 The song of spring and love floats to us in 

 thunderous undulations — plum-pudden^ re- 

 peated four to six times. This bird, often 

 called the stake driver, has another 

 peculiar note or song from which it gets 

 one name. The sound is exactly like 

 ha-whack^ uttered from three to six times 

 and closely resembles stake driving with a 

 maul. So perfect is the resemblance that 

 it is a common occurance for a stranger 

 to the bird to look about for a laborer 

 at work. From the lake comes the wild, 

 unearthly notes of the Loon or Great 

 Northern Diver, ho-a-wee-loo-loo-loo^ or 

 again, key-hoe., reverberating and pen- 

 etrating. 



Returning toward the farm house, we 

 pass close to a cock Quail, which heralds 

 that he is hoh-hoh-iohite from the top of 

 the fence. Yery few strollers are aware 

 that this species says hoh twice, but those 



who observe at close quarters will detect it 

 at once though the first hoh is so indistinct 

 as not to be heard at a distance. Passing 

 through a dense piece of woods, a number 

 of Acadian Flycatchers are seen and 

 their woiQ^.Jce-peel'-uj), ^vq heard all about. 

 Above, in the shady top of a tree a Wood 

 Pewee is pouring forth his melodious 

 refrain pee-ivee-o-wee-pee-wee \ slowly issuing 

 with plaintive, lingering quaver, wliicli 

 causes one to think the dear little singer 

 unhappy. But it is not so, as it is its love 

 song and answers the same purpose as the 

 pathetic resonant song of the liappy Mourn- 

 ing Dove. 



Emerging from the woods we listen to 

 the loud imiperious song of the Baltimore 

 Oriole in rivalry with the gushing melody 

 of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Both of 

 these birds, as well as the Indigo-bird near 

 at hand have songs that it is impossible 

 to describe on paper. There are many 

 songs of birds which no power of the pen 

 can portray, and we can truthfully say that 

 the best of bird melodies are those which 

 cannot be transferred to paper. This then, 

 is an acknowledgement tliat - bird music 

 is of superior quality, and the feathered 

 tribe is possessed of factors in the realm 

 of harmony which we are unable to criticise. 



There are nearly fifty species of Michigan 

 birds which have songs of merit, but if they 

 were fully described, no one unfamiliar 

 with bird notes would recognize a bird 

 by its song description. 



That there is an expression of feeling 

 in the notes of all of our birds, uo 

 true lover of our feathered friends will 

 attempt to deny. We are all willing to 

 admit of tlie existence of a bond between 

 them and us, and this assumption of a 

 hio:her relation we do not care to have 

 destroyed or dispelled by an opinion 

 against the sentiment of our dear lit- 

 tle associates. Nevertheless, although I 

 am anxious to invest these creatures, 

 ''favorites of creation," as Figuier so 

 beautifully terms them, with higher at- 

 tributes of feeling and expression, it re- 

 mains a fact that their notes do not 

 change in quality as a result of change 

 in emotions, at least so far as we are 

 able to judge. Let us consider some in- 



