478 
HARPER’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
connected phrases that haunt the mid¬ 
summer woods, has constructed on this 
same plan a set devotional piece for its 
morning and evening orisons, which I 
have often heard it sing over and over in 
strict time, as though there were so many 
verses that had to be rendered before it 
could utter the final amen: 
Here, it will be observed, all the re¬ 
quirements mentioned above are fulfilled. 
The first and third phrases are identical; 
the second and fourth similar in charac¬ 
ter, the second leaving the musical satis¬ 
faction suspended, the fourth appropri¬ 
ately finishing the verse. Different birds 
vary the construction of this song, but ev¬ 
ery rendition I have heard contains more 
or less of the adherence to form here 
displayed, and contrasts strikingly with 
the character of the usual utterances of 
the bird. 
I have also heard an individual wood- 
thrush utter a triple-phrased song that, 
while not showing the strict convention¬ 
ality of that of the wood-pewee, yet ex¬ 
hibited a certain degree of formality in 
its construction: 
This combination of musically related 
phrases was repeated many times without 
variation or addition. 
In the very formal wood-pewee com¬ 
position there is apparently a distinct 
appreciation of modern tonality. But I 
scarcely feel warranted yet in crediting 
any of the birds with a complete under¬ 
standing of the nature of this aesthetic 
requirement. In ihe variations I have 
mentioned the wood - pewee frequently 
substitutes the second of the scale for the 
tonic as a closing note, and in songs of 
other birds I have not been able to per¬ 
ceive with certainty any preference for 
a definite key-note. Omitting the ques¬ 
tion of tonality, as yet doubtful, we find 
in bird music use of the intervals of our 
scale, appreciation of regular rhythm, 
repetition of single notes and phrases, 
the latter on the same or a different pitch, 
antiphonal effects, and finally a combina¬ 
tion of themes in set form. 
Now in view of these numerous and 
certainly remarkable instances of con¬ 
formity to the aesthetic rules that govern 
our music, an explanation based on co¬ 
incidence seems scarcely tenable. Yet, 
on the other hand, if we credit the birds 
with intelligent performances, we can 
hardly escape the idea that in the evolu¬ 
tion of their music they are closely 
paralleling our advance. And when we 
consider the comparatively recent date 
at which we have developed some of the 
formal rules of melodic structure with 
which their most advanced musicians 
seem to be familiar—rules that are not 
yet appreciated by a large proportion of 
humanity—we can but feel that w T e have 
hitherto scarcely accorded these humble 
minstrels of wood and field their due. Per¬ 
haps we have not given sufficient signifi¬ 
cance to the fact that man and bird are the 
only creatures that use separate notes of 
determinate pitch in their music. Per¬ 
haps, too, we have missed the importance 
of the fact that the birds alone of the en¬ 
tire animal kingdom are capable of being 
taught to reproduce human melodies. 
But if the principle here tentatively sug¬ 
gested should prove unimpeachable—and 
I am well aware how greatly it conflicts 
with the conclusions of many leading in¬ 
vestigators of evolution—we must accord 
a tardy recognition to the musical rank 
of our fellow-musician of the tree-top. 
