U2 



NATURAL HISTORY 



tuning of harpsichords ; it was the common 



A neighbour of mine, who is said to have 

 a nice ear, remarks that the owls about this 

 village hoot in three different keys, in G 

 flat, or F sharp, in B flat and A flat. He 

 heard two hooting to each other, the one 

 in A fiat, and the other in B flat. Query : 

 Do these different notes proceed from dif- 

 ferent species, or only from various indivi- 

 duals ? The same person finds upon trial 

 that the note of the cuckoo (of which we 

 have but one species) varies in diflerent 

 individuals , for, about Selborne wood, he 

 found they were mostly in D : he heard 

 two sing together, the one in D, the other 

 in D sharp, who made a disagreeable con- 

 cert : he afterwards heard one in D sharp, 

 and about Woolmer-forest some in C. As to 

 nightingales, he says that their notes are so 

 short, and their transitions so rapid, that he 

 cannot well ascertain their key. Perhaps 

 in a cage and in a room, their notes may 

 be more distinguishable. This person has 

 tried to settle the notes of a swift, and of 



