NATURAL HISTORY QUERIES 
117 
253. Primroses. — Never do I remember such a splendid priiiirose display 
iis that to be seen in the woods here during this present springtime. Morning 
after morning I am afraid I have broken my Selbornian principles and gathered 
a buttonhole and a bunch of the pale sulphur-yellowr blossoms before breakfast. 
Two things I have noticed about the primrose during my visits to the woodland at 
break of day. One is, I have obseived that the flower-heads on extra fine clumps 
have been bitten ofl' by what I suspect to be some bird or animal (I strongly 
suspect rabbits), but not devoured, the fine blossom heads being strewn all around 
the plant. Can any Selbornian enlighten me upon this point ? Who are the 
culprits and why are the flowers bitten off just below the calyx and left where 
they are dropped ? Secondly, I have noticed repeatedly that the pin-eyed 
variety throws the finest blossoms, at any rate, in this district. Has this been 
noticed elsewhere? I have also found one plant of primroses this spring bearing 
pure white flower.s. 
W. PERCtVAi. Westell, F.R.H.S., M.li.O.U. 
[.Mr. Daubeny does not say whether his watchfulness extends to the evening 
and night ; nor does he seem to realise the very important deductions as to 
evolutionary teleology which will be drawn if it can be proved that a large, long- 
tubed, brightly coloured and sweet-scented flower like the primro.se is beetle- 
fertilised. Honeysuckle is constantly visited by humble-bees, to say nothing 
of Sphingidit. My own observations in my garden make me believe sparrows to 
be the culprits after whom Mr. Westell enquires, and pure mischief their sole 
apparent motive. — En. N, A''.] 
NATURAL HISTORY QUERIES. 
52. Individual Tunes of Birds. — I should like to ask if any corresspon- 
dent is able to distinguish individual birds frequenting a particular locality by 
the peculiarity of their “ tune ” ? To illustrate what I mean, and to show the 
manner in which birds attach themselves to certain limited “ pitches,” I may 
take the case of my own garden. Three years ago a blackbird was observed 
in a certain part, with a white head. This peculiarity, of cour.se, afforded an 
easy means of distinguishing him from his fellows, and it was soon found that 
his home was really in my neighbour’s garden, across the road. Later, he 
appears to have transferred himself entirely to me. Two years ago, and again 
last year, he was constantly seen, always confined to a certain limited pitch, 
with his mate. There he sings his song, and rears his brood (cats and other 
difficulties permitting), and there he remains this year. Now, on the other 
side of the garden, lives another blackbird, with no such distinguishing charac- 
teristic, but who is easily known from all others by his “ tune,” a quaint, 
amusing sequence of notes, interjected only at somewhat rare intervals into the 
rest of his song, but easily noticeable by anyone with an ear for sound. When 
it occurs the attention of the hearer is arrested, and he breaks off his reading or 
writing, listening eagerly for a repetition of the notes. But, though the song 
continues, the repetition waited for is often long in coming, so long, possibly, 
that the hearer has meanwhile resumed his occupation, only to have his attention 
suddenly arrested as before. And so it may be heard any day at intervals, from 
daylight to dark. This singer’s place is in the old oak tree near the gates, or 
the immediate neighbourhood. There he sang the same tune last year, and there 
he is working at it now. 
There are, of course, many other blackbirds about, each, no doubt, having 
his own patch or pitch, and any one may ea.=ily be “marked down” for obser- 
vation while singing, but in no case that has come under my notice does the 
tune bear the least resemblance to that of the one described above. Similar 
remarks might be made about a bird known to us as “ the minor thrush,” from 
his habit of always singing his song in a sort of minor key ; but enough has 
been said to make clear the meaning of my enquiry. Much has been said about 
birds returning to the same spot year after year, or what are assumed to be the 
same ; but if the difference or peculiarity of tune obtains to any extent, here 
