COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 
279 
while a low, soft cry, and then trips to and fro before her 
in the prettiest manner imaginable. Courting is not, 
however, carried on by means of these movements solely, 
but also with the assistance of sounds, aye, very words! 
easily to be understood. The song of every bird is, in 
truth, an outburst of feeling, a passionate poem—the 
soul of wooing; and the words of the poet— 
“ Oh, would’st thou seek the nightingales, 
Whose tuneful melody charm’d thee, 
In the bright happy days of spring ?— 
Wooing they sang—now they sing no more !” 
express the truth; for with the growth of parental cares 
the love-song wears away. The conduct of the male 
while singing, and that of the hen bird, to whom he 
pays his addresses, are proofs that the song of the first 
solicits the love of the latter. The male calls the loved 
one to his side, entertaining her with his melody, and 
with it, also, he sets other females of his species by the 
ears! In the breeding season song is a weapon: the 
bird conquers and is conquered by it. It would take too 
much space were I to describe the behaviour of singing 
birds more in detail. I need only remind my readers 
that birds animate one another by the agency of song ; 
that many species only sing, or, what is equivalent to it, 
let their notes be heard, during the breeding time; that 
others, again, emit peculiar notes at that season, which 
are never heard at other times; and that some species 
make curious sounds and noises instead of notes. The 
Cuckoo is one of these, becoming silent after pairing- 
time. Grebes, Jays, Magpies, Crows, Ravens, and 
others, also have their peculiar love-notes; to this class 
belong the Stork, Adjutant, Glossy Ibis, and Pelican, 
which make a snapping noise with their bills; as well as 
