SONG. 



13 



shrill, but quite as frequent ; all the melodies are short 

 compared to those of the " Hartz "-bird, nor have I heard 

 any new melodies ; nevertheless, the total impression pro- 

 duced upon me by the song of the wild-bird resulted in 

 the conviction that the latter, in his soft, melodious organ, 

 possesses the means of acquiring, as far as fulness of tone 

 and a moderate length of the strophes are concerned, the 

 song of the canary of the " Hartz," and this might be 

 accomplished even in the first, but certainly in the second 

 generation. Whether the purity and faultlessness of the 

 song of the " Hartz "-bird can be attained in so short a time, 

 will depend on the circumstance whether the young brood 

 can be removed from the old male soon enough to prevent 

 the former from hearing the song of the latter even during 

 the first four weeks of its existence. The type of the song 

 of the single wild-bird is that of the note of the common 

 breed, but, although, in the main, they are concordant, 

 yet various deviations will occur, so that the assertion that 

 each covey has its own song, is not entirely without founda- 

 tion. At all events there are, among the wild-birds, some 

 which are more, and others which are less, proficient in 

 song ; the best singers are those which least frequently 

 " catch," they thrill oftener, they also produce a short 

 "rattle," and, in this respect, they approach the song of a 

 tolerably good " Hartz "-bird. The long-drawn notes, 

 however, of the latter's song are never heard in the open 

 air, nor are they emitted by the captive birds of Teneriffe. 



According to my opinion, the wild-bird will sing best in 

 the localities where it is most numerously represented ; the 

 female bird, however, will utter a few chirping notes even 

 in captivity. The " luring " note of either sex is often soft 

 and melodious like that of the tame species, but often, too, 

 it is unpleasantly high. W. Hartwig writes : its song is that 

 of our common breed, but the single notes are not so loud, 



