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THE VOICE-REGISTERS OF BIRDS. 
By Cuarutes A. WITCHELL. 
Musicians have distinguished several ranges of tone in 
human voices, and, with the object of rendering vocalization 
even and harmonious, teachers of singing have always laboured 
to smooth out these breaks or cracks in the voice. Although 
some teachers deny that these breaks are natural, and contend 
that they are due to a vitiated style of singing, the breaks are 
very noticeable in the passionate crying of a baby, and therefore 
must be considered as quite natural. The most distinct breaks 
in adult voices are to be found in basses and contraltos, whose 
deep song notes are widely different from their alto and soprano 
notes. The jodelling with which iads in the street sometimes 
amuse themselves very clearly illustrates this subject. 
My present purpose is to draw attention to a seemingly 
analogous break in the voices of many birds. ‘The subject is 
difficult to discuss, but not, I believe, devoid of scientific value. 
Perhaps the most obvious break in a bird-voice occurs in the 
Goose, whose discordant cries strongly suggest the first attempt 
of a person to play a clarionet. In man the upper register is 
merely the survival of the child’s voice, but it is very difficult to 
determine whether the same survival of the infantile voice occurs 
in birds’ songs, for half-grown birds rarely sing. It must at the 
same time be observed that the first songs of young Blackbirds 
and Thrushes are much like the high squeaky notes to which the 
voices of the adults often change abruptly from the full song. 
In some birds we hear what may be termed the ‘‘ chest voice” 
(corresponding, say, to our contralto and bass), and a “‘head 
voice” (analogous to our alto and soprano). The Blackbird 
affords the commonest instance. Its song consists of a few full 
- whistled notes (the number increases as the season advances), 
_ never slurred from one to the other; and these, in every succes- 
_ sive phrase, are immediately succeeded by some harsh squealing 
