BIRD-SONG, 
207 
on all points, ornithologists cannot fail to find in it much that is 
of great interest, and much that will suggest to them lines of 
study and observation unthought of before, which will greatly 
increase their interest in the observation of the habits of birds. 
The Evolution of Bird-Song is essentially a book of these 
modern days, when, not content with the exterior appearance of 
things as they are, we are striving to look at their insides ; not 
content to ask only “ is it,” but asking “ why is it.” The 
subject is so new that we are hardly in a position at present to 
criticise the theories contained in the book ; and time must be 
given for the weighing of many of the facts. 
The author divides the subject into ten chapters, treating of 
the Origin of the Voice ; Alarm Notes ; . The Influence of 
Combat; The Call-Note; The Simplest Songs; Noticeable 
Incidents connected with Bird-Song ; The Influence of Heredity 
in the perpetuation of the Cries of Birds; Variation in Bird- 
Voices, its Causes and Effects; The Influence of Imitation in 
relation to Bird-Song; The Music of Bird-Song. In his Con- 
clusion the author urges the ease with which this study may be 
pursued, and that observers will arrive at the conviction that hir 
conclusions are justified. 
Although we may not all be possessed of the author’s 
untiring patience, the perusal of the book will doubtless lead 
many into this field for observation, and we may hope to see 
the subject more fully ventilated. Mr. Witchell is a musician, 
and in the course of his pages gives many bird-notes and phases 
in musical score. The appendix contains the score of the music 
of the blackbird, thrush and skylark ; and there is a biblio- 
graphy of the subject (hardly complete), and an index. 
The author has not relied wholly upon his own observations, 
but has “ quoted those of numerous well-known authorities.” 
He cannot very well be expected to have ascertained the truth 
or otherwise of all these quotations, but our experience of the 
bird in a wild state convinces us that the description of the song 
of the ortolan bunting quoted at p. 12 1 is entirely wTong and 
misleading. Anyone who knows the volume and pitch of the 
ear-piercing cries uttered by the oven-bird will find it difficult 
to believe that young birds, “ when only a day or two old, utter 
the full cries or songs ” of their parents (p. 88). And it may be 
added that the song of the water pipit (p. 118) is not like that 
of the tree pipit, if that is the meaning of a somewhat ambiguous 
passage. Although there is a general similarity between the 
songs of several species of pipits, the songs vary very consider- 
ably in merit, and it seems to us misleading to say that “ the 
common tree pipit and meadow pipit have somewhat similar 
voices,” when that of the former is immeasurably superior to 
that of the latter. The quotation from Yarrell as to the alleged 
similarity of the song of the rock pipit to that of the two birds 
just mentioned was not worth insertion, as the song of the rock 
pipit is quite distinct from that of the two other species. 
