1899
May
(d)
than forty or fifty yards.
  Of its [delete]quality[/delete] form it is impossible to chat briefly or
in general terms for the bird had several songs which
were not only different but very dissimilar. Most birds
who posses a rich and varied repertoire give their
different songs or notes in rapid succession or frequent
alternation but with this Lincoln's Finch the change 
was invariably made only after a period of silence
and the theme selected on each occasion was repeated
with little or no variation dozens of times in succession
while sometimes it served the bird for a whole
morning. Some of the songs were fixed and uniform
at all times; others varied as I have just implied,
but only within definite limits. All resembled, and
two of them appeared to exactly reproduce, the songs
of other species of birds. Indeed not one could
be safely regarded as original either in form or
tone. What other North American bird sings in this
way, borrowing his songs from half a dozen other birds,
not intermingling or combining them with notes of
his own, but selecting one for an hour or occasion,
another for another?
[margin]Notes on
Lincoln's Finch[/margin]
  The different songs with their variations which this
Lincoln's Sparrow used may be described as follow[s ].
1. A simpler, level, woodeny trill usually indistinguishable 
from the summer song of the Junco but at times with 
a resonant, lyrical quality approaching that of the
Yellow-rump's song - both forms given at short but distinct intervals.
2. The same trills with the intervals completely filled
with short, soft liquid notes the whole forming a 
medley exactly like that uttered by the Junco in
97