230 THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
" This bird is so great a favourite in Germany, that 
not a single tone of its voice has escaped the ex- 
perienced ears of the birdfanciers. They have ob- 
served its nicest shades, and are continually endea- 
vouring to improve and perfect it. I confess I am 
myself one of its warmest admirers. I have con- 
stantly around me the best songsters of its species/' 
This entertaining author likewise observes — " One 
thing peculiar to chaffinches is the necessity of teach- 
ing them their song every year, and this is the man- 
ner proper for them during the four or five weeks this 
exercise lasts : they first utter a murmur, or weak 
warbling ; to which they add, at first, in an under 
voice, one or two, and afterwards several, syllables 
of their song; they are then said to record." 
A chaffinch that takes only a week or a fortnight 
to repeat this lesson for fully bringing out its voice, 
is reckoned among the geniuses of his species. He 
also adds — If we pay a little attention, however, 
we shall find that this exercise is intended less to 
awaken the memory than to render the throat, stif- 
fened by a tolerably long state of inaction, more 
pliant, and to bring back its natural flexibility." 
T imagine this practice is not confined to chaf- 
