24 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
the sounds produced by any given species, 
the practice is absolutely valueless. 
Who would endeavour to teach the air of 
our National Anthem to anybody unacquainted 
with it by writing down the words of one of 
the verses ? 
Yet the usual bird-song formula of tweet- 
tweet, jug-jug, pink-pink, etc., is no more com¬ 
prehensible, and conveys no idea as to the 
musical notes the words are supposed to 
portray, or the key in which they should be 
pitched. 
Space does not permit of our mentioning 
more than a few of the more remarkable 
singing birds, but of these the bell-birds certainly 
claim special attention. Of the four different 
species, one of the best known is the naked- 
throated bell-bird, of which several examples 
have been exhibited at the London Zoological 
Gardens on various occasions, the first one 
arriving there in May, 1867. 
A fully-grown male may be compared in 
size to an adult blackbird. The colour of its 
plumage is entirely white, except for a few 
tiny black feathers that sprout from the other¬ 
wise bare skin of the throat which, during the 
pairing season, is of a pale green tint, as also 
is the skin around the eyes. 
The voice of the bell-bird is extremely loud 
