C «AP. XIII. 
VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. 
67 
re eding- S eas 01 i, and the diversity of the means for 
th , ^ SU( ‘h sounds, are highly remarkable. We 
115 gain a high idea of their importance for sexual 
P°ses, and are reminded of the same conclusion with 
]. ' P e °t to insects. It is not difficult to imagine the steps 
-Mch the notes of a bird, primarily used as a mere 
1 or for some other purpose, might have been im- 
' e d into a melodious love-song. This is somewhat 
°! e difficult in the case of the modified feathers, by 
*he drumming, whistling, or roaring noises are 
th*/ Uce ^‘ But we have seen that some birds during 
' °ourtship flutter, shake, or rattle their unmodified 
lathers together ; and if the females were led to select 
8tr _ est performers, the males which possessed the 
the 
at or thickest, or most attenuated feathers, situ- 
s ( 0n any part of the body, would be the most 
he 6SS ^d i and thus by slow degrees the feathers might 
Modified to almost any extent. The females, of 
in | Se ’ Wou ^d not notice each slight successive alteration 
cu •• : d ,e > hut only the sounds thus produced. It is a 
so i-'w dhat i n the same class of animals, sounds 
erent as the drumming of the snipe’s tail, the 
lilnf' 11 *’ °* ^ le woodpecker’s beak, the harsh trumpet 
dov 
^ I j ^ I 
C1 y ol certain water-fowl, the cooing of the turtle- 
j ,| Cj . ’. an d the song of the nightingale, should all be 
w e dSin g to the females of the several species. But 
***** not judge the tastes of distinct species by a 
°f ° r * standard ; nor must we judge by the standard 
"hat ,r ^ as ^ e ' Even with man, we should remember 
the i ^ Sc °rdant noises, the beating of tom-toms and 
S; r g ri i notes of reeds, please the ears of savages. 
<( duiker remarks , 67 that “ as the stomach of the 
prefers the raw meat and reeking liver taken 
The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,’ 18G7, p. 203. 
