5$ B I R 
Singing BIRDS are, the nightingale, blackbird, thrufh, 
linnet, lark, throftle, goldfinch, &c. Their firft found is 
called chirp , which is a fingle found repeated at fhort in¬ 
tervals; the next call, which is a repetition of one and the 
fame note; and the third found is called recording, which 
a young bird continues to do for ten or eleven months, till 
he is able to execute every part of his fong; and when he 
is perfect in his left'on, he is faid to Jing his fong round. 
Their fong is defined, by the honourable Dailies Barring¬ 
ton, to be a fucceflion of three or more different notes, 
which are continued without interruption, during the fame 
interval, with a mufical bar of four crotchets in an adagio 
movement, or whilft a pendulum Iwings four feconds. It 
is affirmed, that the notes of birds are no more innate than 
language in man, and that they depend upon imitation, 
as far as their organs will enable them to imitate the founds 
which they have frequent opportunities of hearing: and 
their adhering fo fteadily, even in a wild date, to the fame 
fong, is owing to the neftlings attending only to the in- 
ftruction of the parent-bird, whilft they difregard the notes 
of all others that may perhaps be Tinging round them. 
Birds in a wild date do not commonly fing above ten 
weeks in the year, whereas birds that have plenty of food 
in a cage fing the greateft part of the year: and we may 
add, that the female of no fpecies of birds ever fings. 
This is a wife provifion of nature, becaufe her fong would 
difcover her tied. In the fame manner, we may ration¬ 
ally account for her inferiority in plumage. The faculty 
of Tinging is confined to the cock birds ; and accordingly 
Mr. Hunter, in differing birds of l'everal fpecies, found 
the miifcles of the larynx to be ftronger in the nightingale 
than in any other bird of the fame fize ; and in all thofe 
inftances, where he difleiTed both cock and hen, the fame 
mufcles were ftronger in the cock. To the fame purpofe, 
it is an obfervation as ancient as the time of Pliny, that a 
capon does not crow. Some have afcribed the Tinging of 
the cock-bird in the fpring folely to the motive of pleafing 
his mate during incubation ; others, who allow that it is 
partly for this end, believe it is partly owing alfo to ano¬ 
ther caufe, viz. the great abundance of plants and infefts 
in the fpring, which, as well as feeds, are the proper food 
of finging birds at that time of the year. 
Mr. Barrington remarks, that there is no inftance of any 
finging bird which exceeds our blackbird in fize; and this, 
he fuppofes, may arife from the difficulty of its concealing 
itfelf, if it called the attention of its enemies, not only by 
its bulk, but by the proportionable loudnefs of its notes. 
This writer farther obferves, that Tome paffages of the 
fong in a few kinds of birds correfpond with the intervals 
of our mufical fcale of which the cuckoo is a ftriking 
and known inftance ; but the greater part of their fong 
cannot be reduced to a mufical fcale ; partly, becaufe the 
rapidity is often fo great, and it is alfo fo uncertain when 
they may ftop, that we cannot reduce the paffages to form 
a mufical bar in any time whatfoever; partly alfo, be¬ 
caufe the pitch of mod; birds is confiderably higher than 
the moft fhrill notes of thofe inftruments which have the 
greateft compafs ; and principally, becaufe the intervals 
ufed by birds are commonly fo minute, that we cannot 
judge of them from the more grofs intervals into which 
we divide our mufical oflave. This writer apprehends, 
that all birds fing in the fame key ; and in order to difco¬ 
ver this key, he informs us, that the following notes have 
been obferved in different birds, A, B flat, C, D, F, and 
G; and therefore E is only wanting to complete the fcale: 
now thefe intervals, he fays, can only be found in the key 
of F with a fliarp third, or that of G with a flat third ; 
and he fuppofes it to be the latter, becaufe, admitting that 
the firft mufical notes were learned from birds, thofe of 
the cuckoo, which have been moft attended to, form a 
flat third, and moft of our compofitions are in a flat third, 
where mufic is Ample, and confifts merely of melody. As 
a farther evidence that birds fing always in the fame key, 
it has been found by attending to a nightingale, as well as 
a robin which was educated under him, that the notes re- 
3 ' 
B I R 
ducible to our intervals of the oftave were always precifely 
the fame. Mod people, who have not attended to the 
notes of birds, fuppofe, that every fpecies fing exactly 
the fame notes and paffages: but this is by no means true : 
though it is admitted that there is a general refemblance. 
Thus the London bird-catchers prefer the fong of the 
Kentifh goldfinches and Effex chaffinches ; and forne of 
nightingale-fanciers prefer a Surry bird to thole of Mid- 
dlefex. 
Of all finging birds, the fong of the nightingale lias 
been molt univerfally admired: and its fuperiority (de¬ 
duced from a caged bird) confifts in the following parti¬ 
culars : its tone is much more mellow than that of any 
other bird, though at the fame time, by a proper exertion 
of its mufical powers, it can be very brilliant. Another 
point of fuperiority is its continuance of fong without a 
paufe, which is fometimes no lefs than twenty feconds; 
and, when refpiration becomes necelfary, it takes it witli 
as much judgment as an opera-finger. The Iky-lark in this 
particular, as well as in compafs and variety, is only fecond 
to the nightingale. The nightingale alfo fings (if the ex- 
preffion may be allowed) with fuperior judgment and tafle. 
Mr. Barrington has obferved, that his nightingale, which 
was a very capital bird, began foftly like the ancient ora¬ 
tors ; referving its breath to fwell certain notes, which by 
thefe means had a moft aftonifliing effeft. This writer 
adds, that the notes of birds which are annually imported 
from Alia, Africa, and America, both lingly and in con¬ 
cert, are not to be compared to thofe of European birds. 
The following table, formed by Mr. Barrington, agree¬ 
ably to the idea of M. de Piles in eftimating the merits of 
painters, is defigned to exhibit the comparative merit of 
the Britifh finging birds ; in which twenty is fuppofed to 
be the point of abfolute perfection. 
Names of Singing Birds. 
Mellownefs 
of tone. 
Sprightly 
notes. 
Plaintive 
notes. 
Compafs. 
Execution. 
Nightingale 
1 9 
14 
19 
19 
l 9 
Skylark 
4 
19 
4 
18 
18 
Woodlark 
IS 
4 
17 
12 
8 
Tit-lark 
12 
I 2 
I 2 
I 2 
12 
Linnet 
12 
16 
12 
l6 
iS 
Goldfinch 
4 
19 
4 
12 
12 
Chaffinch 
4 
12 
4 
8 
8 
Greenfinch 
4 
4 
4 
4 
6 
Hedge-fparrow 
6 
0 
<5 
4 
4 
Aberdavine or fifkin 
2 
4 
0 
4 
4 
Red-poll 
O 
4 
0 
4 
4 
Thruffi 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
Blackbird 
4 
4 
O 
2 
2 
Robin 
6 
1 6 
12 
12 
12 
Wren 
O 
12 
O 
4 
4 
Reed-fparrow 
O 
4 
O 
2 
2 
Black-cap 
14 
12 
I 2 
14 
14 
BIRE'MIS,yi in Roman antiquity, a veffel with two 
rows of oars; concerning the difpofition of which authors 
are not agreed. 
BIRE'THUS,y. [from birrus, a prieft’s hood.J 
An odoriferous cap, lined with cephalic drugs, for the head. 
BIR'KAN, a town of Arabia, twenty-four miles fouth 
of Saade. 
BIR'KENFIELD, a town of Germany, in the circle 
of the Upper Rhine, and county of Sponheim; the feat 
of a bailiwic, which includes thirty-two villages, and two 
iron founderies. It w'as taken by the French revolution¬ 
ary army, in the campaign of 1794 : thirty miles eaft-north- 
eaft of Treves, and thirty north-north-weft of Deux Ponts. 
BIR'KENHEAD or Berkenhead (Sir John), a ce¬ 
lebrated political author, born in 1615. Being recom¬ 
mended to Dr. Laud archbiffiop of Canterbury, he be¬ 
came his fecretary j in which office he ffiewed fuch capa¬ 
city 
