I92I. 



BuRKiTT. — Song and Nesting of Birds. 



3 



But in the case of these migrants, the whole time they 

 are with us might be called the family season, and their 

 sonf^- may have reference to the family life. So that we are 

 left with the above four or five residents of which there 

 is the prima facie suggestion that their song has no particular 

 relation to family life, being as regular out of the breeding 

 season as in it. Whether it really has or not I have no 

 sufficient data for elucidating. Guarding a certain territory 

 for himself and for a real or desired mate, though the latter 

 pay little or no attention, may possibly be a motive with 

 the Robin and Wren ; at least I have reason to fancy so 

 in the case of the Wren. As regards the other above- 

 mentioned species which do in my district give some song 

 in autumn, such as the Goldcrest, Wagtail, Creeper, Starling, 

 and Skylark ; or which make in autumn call-notes of more 

 or less frequency such as the Chaffinch, Missel-Thrush, 

 Hedge-Sparrow, and Yellow-hammer — I throw out the 

 suggestion that the motive is sexual, shewn either by 

 antipathy and fighting betw^een the males or an attachment 

 of male to female, this antipathy and attachment waning 

 as winter approaches. 



I do not pretend to competence in this subject of song. 

 Also my observations herein may or may not clash with 

 those by others and with what can be gleaned on the 

 subject out of bird books. I had hoped to incorporate 

 such gleanings here, but irregularity in the train service 

 has cut me off from libraries. 



The main point of this paper is to show that with at 

 least a certain number of well-known songsters, mating 

 seems to put a brake or a stopper on the song ; and that 

 we should have comparatively little song from them were 

 it not for un-mated males and the recrudescence of song 

 where there are second broods. 



With the general run of songsters the earlier ones begin 

 singing a good long w^hile before nesting. Thus with the 

 Chaffinch there are about 2| months between early song 

 and early eggs. This might suggest that mating does not 

 affect the song. But this would be a hasty conclusion. 

 Firstly matches may be made up very slowly, and secondly 

 there is a gradual supply of fresh-starting singers. 



