OBSERVATIONS OU 
1 6y 
which are continued without interruption du- 
ring the lame interval with a mulical bar of 
four crochets in an adagio movement, or whilft 
a pendulum fwings four feconds. 
By the firft requifite in this definition, I mean 
to exclude the call of a Cuckow or clucking of 
a hen * *, as they confift of only two notes ; while 
the fhort burfts of finging birds, contending 
with each other (called jerks by the bird-catch- 
ers), are equally difiinguifhed from what I 
term Jong , by their not continuing for four fe- 
conds. 
As the notes of a Cuckow and Hen, there- 
fore, though they exceed what I have defined 
the call of a bird to be, do not amount to its 
fong, I will, for this reafon, take the liberty 
of terming fuch a fuccelhon of two notes as we 
hear in thefe birds, the varied call. 
Having thus iettled the meaning of certain 
words, which I fhall be obliged to make ufe 
cf, I fhall now proceed to fiate fome general 
principles with regard to the finging of birds, 
which feem to relult from the experiments I 
have been making for feveral years, and under 
a gi eat variety of circumflance s. 
^otes in birds are no more innate than lan- 
The common hen, when fhe lays, repeats the fame note 
> often, and concludes with the filth above, which fhe 
• olds lor a longer time. 
