10 
VERTEBKATA. 
certain distinct sounds, by which it can communicate its desires not only to those of its own, but 
of other species. These iK)tes, if connected in a melodious succession, are called a song ; if un- 
connected, a call. In some cases the call is the same, however different the emotions which it is 
intended to express ; in others, it is very various. For instance, the chaffinch's call, when on the 
wing, is Eyak ! eyak ! its expression of joy is Firik ! jink! — if angry, the same syllable is repeated 
more quickly — and Trief ! trie.f ! is the sign of tenderness or melancholy. The raven's call — 
Graab ! graah I — is, on the contrary, the same under all circumstances, and the only indication 
of a change of emotion is the degree of rapidity with which it is uttered. 
" What is called the Song of Birds is, in all cases, expressive either of love or happiness. Thus, 
the nightingale sings only during the pairing season and the period of incubation, and is silent as 
soon as compelled to feed its young ; while, on the contrary, the starling, the bullfinch, and the 
canary, sing throughout the year, except when dejected by moulting. It seems, in general, to be 
a prerogative of the males, by which they either invite or seek to retain the affections of the fe- 
males. There are indeed a few species, as in the European redbreast and lark, and in the canary, 
&c., the females of which, especially if kept by themselves, manifest a capability of uttering a few 
notes like those of the male ; but in general they only listen to the song of the males, in order to 
show their preference for the most £.ccomplished singer. In a cage of canaries, the liveliest female 
always pairs with the best singer, and a female chaffinch, when wild, will choose out of a hundred 
males, the mate whose song is mos^ pleasing to her." 
Some birds sing throughout the day ; some are heard early in the morning; others in the even- 
ing, and a few seem to prefer the silence of the night. Some prefer to sing in company; others 
are mute except when alone. The nightingale, for instance, is silent in the daytime, and sings 
only in the evening, or at night. It seems, indeed, as if the queen of European song birds 
was conscious of the superiority of her powers, and disdained to raise her voice amid the various 
noises of the day and the cry and twitter of other birds, but reserved it for a period when it could 
be better heard and more fully appreciated by men. It is remarkable, that all birds which, un- 
like the redbreast, siskin, or bullfinch, do not sing throughout the year, appear to forget their 
song during the process of moulting, and have to learn it again every spring. 
"The melody of birds," says Broderip, "finds its way to the heart of every one ; but the cause 
that prompts the outpourings, that make copse, rock, and river ring again on a fine spring morn- 
ing, is more a matter of doubt with ornithologists than the uninitiated in zoological mysteries 
might suppose. Much has been written on this subject, and upon a consideration of the different 
opinions, aided by our own observations, we are inclined to think that love and rivalry are the 
two great stimulants, though we do not mean to deny that a bird may sing from mere gayety of 
heart, arising from finding itself in the haunts dear to it, and in the midst of plenty of the food it 
likes. 
"In England, the season of reproduction is undoubtedly that wherein 
' The isle is full of pleasant noises, 
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight ;' 
and about ten weeks have been mentioned as the period during which most of our wild birds are 
in song. That there are exceptions to this rule there is no doubt. We have heard a wild thrush, 
one of the sweetest singers of his tribe, sing far into September, but we watched narrowly and 
never could find that he had a mate. Then, again, we have the autumnal, and even the winter 
notes of the robin, long after the breeding season; and caged birds, if well fed and kept, will sing 
the greater part of the year." 
No naturalist appears to have paid greater attention to this part of our subject than Colonel 
Montague, and his remarks thereupon are exceedingly interesting. "There is no doubt," he 
says, " that birds in confinement will learn the song of those they are kept with ; but then it 
is constantly blended with that peculiar to the species. In the spring, the very great exertions 
of the male birds in their vociferous notes are certainly the calls to love, and the peculiar note of 
each is an unerring mark for each to discover its own species. If a confined bird had learned 
the song of another, without retaining any pai-t of its natural notes, and was set at liberty, it is 
probable it would never find a mate of its own species ; and even supposing it did, there is no 
