Id’s 
ON THE CLASSIFICATION OP BIRDS. 
space admit of the discussion. Almost every bird has 
a peculiar language, understood only by its kind. The 
sorts. One may be compared to speaking, the other 
whole feathered creation, for there is no birds yet dis 
covered which, even so far as they liave been observed 
by man, are altogether silent. The power of song 
however, is confined, comparatively, but to few, all of 
wiich belong to the two great typical orders of the 
ckss, the lioptore, and the Inm^soreK The gallinaceous 
birds, however, have by far the loudest voice, while 
that of the waders and of the swimmers can be com- 
pared only to a scream. Few persons would suspect 
that any of tlie rapacious birds possessed the faculty of 
song, for the hoot of the owl is probably only a call or 
l>e supposed to recreate 
Itself. -Vultures are still more taciturn, at least we 
never heard them utter, in llrazil, more than a gruff 
cow. But there is a species of falcon, discovered by Le 
Vaillmiit in the interior of Africa, and named by him 
Le Futtcon Chanteur,* which is a remarkable and 
almost a unique instance of melody in a bird of prey : 
the sexes are truly conjugal, living togetlier at all 
seasons : the song of the male is particularly strong 
when the female is sitting on the nest; he will then 
solace her lor hours together, beginning witli the dawn 
and continuing at intervaLs until sunset; nay, so com- 
pletely ,s this bird the nightingale of the rapacious 
order, that its song is not unfrequentiy heard during 
the greatest part of the night. It would seem that tlS 
falcon belongs to the Accipetrine group of the family 
which represents the i„ its circle, and thus 
the analogy already remarked between birds and he- 
mipterous insects is continued to the circle of the 
lidptoros. 
( 144 .) Melody of voice may be considered altogether 
pecuhar to the vast order of perchers, for the only ex- 
* OU. de I’AfVique, vol. L p, 117 
