THE VOICE. 
49 
of a mill, the sound of a saw at work, and many others 
which he may hear in the neighbourhood. Parrots 
sometimes become unbearable from this same desire and 
capability: they mew like cats, bark like dogs, cough like 
human beings, squeak like sucking-pigs, cackle like geese, 
and perform solos on a penny whistle, after the manner 
of noisy boys, producing such hideous dissonance that 
they at last become nuisances to the most indifferent 
person. On the other hand, it is all the more amusing 
to hear them utter words and sentences : of these I will 
give examples further on. 
The most perfect “ artiste 5 ’ in this way appears to be 
the American Mocking-bird (Mimus polyglottus). It is 
such a highly-gifted creature that Audubon considers it 
worthy of the title, “The Queen of Songsters.” “It is 
neither the soft tone of the flute,” says this inspired 
naturalist, “nor the note of any other instrument, which 
strikes the ear while listening to its song; it is the rich 
ringing voice of Nature herself: the full round tone of 
this song, its different inflections and gradations, its 
compass and the brilliancy of its execution are unequalled. 
There exists, probably, no bird on earth possessed of so 
many gifts, in regard of vocal capacity, as this Queen of 
melody, schooled by Nature herself. Europeans have 
asserted that the song of the Nightingale equals that of 
the Mocking-bird. I have heard both, and cannot 
hesitate to acknowledge that some single notes of the 
former are as beautiful as those produced by the latter; 
but to compare the Nightingale’s complete musical 
production, as a composition, with the finished gift of the 
Mocking-bird is, in my opinion, absurd.” 
Connoisseurs of the capabilities of European singing 
birds are of an opinion quite different from that of Audubon ; 
H 
