﻿168 ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



space admit of the discussion. Almost every bird has 

 a peculiar language, understood only by its kind. The 

 notes of all birds, indeed, are of two very different 

 sorts. One may be compared to speaking, the other 

 to singing ; the first of these probably pervades the 

 whole feathered creation, for there is no birds yet dis- 

 covered which, even so far as they have been observed 

 by man, are altogether silent. The power of song^ 

 however, is confined, comparatively, but to few, all of 

 which belong to the two great typical orders of the 

 class, the Raptores and the Insessores. The gallinaceous 

 birds, however, have by far the loudest voice, while 

 that of the waders and of the swimmers can be com- 

 pared only to a scream. Few persons would suspect 

 that any of the rapacious birds possessed the faculty of 

 song, for the hoot of the owl is probably only a call or 

 signal to its mate, and cannot be supposed to recreate 

 itself. Vultures are still more taciturn, at least we 

 never heard them utter, in* Brazil, more than a gruff 

 caw. But there is a species of falcon, discovered by Le 

 Vailliant in the interior of Africa, and named by him 

 Le Faucon Chanteur, * which is a remarkable and 

 almost a unique instance of melody in a bird of prey : 

 the sexes are truly conjugal, living together at all 

 seasons : the song of the male is particularly strong 

 when the female is sitting on the nest ; he will then 

 solace her for hours together, beginning with the dawn 

 and continuing at intervals until sunset ; nay, so com- 

 pletely is this bird the nightingale of the rapacious 

 order, that its song is not unfrequently heard during 

 the greatest part of the night. It would seem that this 

 falcon belongs to the Accipetrine group of the family,, 

 which represents the Insessores in its circle, and thus 

 the analogy already remarked between birds and he- 

 mipterous insects is continued to the circle of the 

 Raptores. 



( 1 44.) Melody of voice may be considered altogether 

 peculiar to the vast order of perchers, for the only ex- 

 * Ois. de TAfrique, vol. i. p. 117. 



