proceed to ftate fome general principles with regard to the finging of birds, which seem to refult from the experiments I have been making for feveral years, and under a great variety of circumstances.

Notes in birds are no more innate than language is in man, and depend entirely upon the mafter under which they are bred, as far as their organs will enable them to imitate the founds which they have frequent opportunities of hearing. Moft of the experiments I have made on this fubject have been made with cock linnets, which were fledged and nearly able to leave their neft, on account not only of this bird's docility, and great powers of imitation, but becaufe the cock is easily distinguished from the hen at that early period, by the fuperior whiteness in the wing*.

In many other forts of finging birds, the male is not at the age of three weeks fo certainly known from female; and if the pupil turns out to be a hen,

Ειτ' εισιν οι τοτίιγες εκ ευδαίμονες,
Ων ταις γυναιξιν εδ' οτινε φωνης εν ;
Comicorum Græcorum Senten-

tiæ, p. 452. Ed. Steph. I have indeed known an inftance or two of a hen's making out something like the fong of her species ; but thefe are as rare as the common hen's being heard to crow.

I rather fufpect alfo, that those parrots, magpies, &c. which either do not speak at all, or very little, are hens of thofe fpecies.

I have educated neftling linnets under the three beft finging larks, the fkylark, woodlark, and titlark, every one of which, instead of the linnet's fong, adhered entirely to that of their respective inftructors.

When the note of the titlarklinnet||was thoroughly fixed, I hung the bird in a room with two common linnets, for a quarter of a year, which were full in fong; the titlark-linnet, however, did not borrow any paffages from the linnet's fong, but adhered ftedfaftly to that of the titlark.

I had fome curiofity to find out whether an European neftling would equally learn the note of an African bird: I therefore educated a young linnet under a vengolina, which imitated its African master so exactly, without any mixture of the linnet fong, that it was impoffible to diftinguish the one from the

other.

This

This vengolina-linnet was abfolutely perfect, without ever uttering a fingle note by which it could have been known to be a linnet. In fome of my other experiments, however, the nestling linnet retained the call of its own fpecies, or what the bird-catchers term the linnet's chuckle, from some resemblance to that word when pronounced.

I have before stated, that all my neftling linnets were three weeks old, when taken from the neft; and by that time they frequently learn their own call from the parent birds, which I have mentioned to confist of only a single note.

To be certain, therefore, that a neftling will not have even the call of its fpecies, it fhould be taken from the neft when only a day or two old; because, though neftlings cannot fee till the feventh day, yet they can hear from the inftant they are hatched, and, probably, from that circumftance attend to founds more than they, do afterwards; efpecially as the call of the parents announces the arrival of their food. I must own, that I am not equal myfelf, nor can I procure any perfon to take the trouble of breeding up a bird of this age, as the odds against its being reared are almoft infinite. The warmth in. deed of incubation may be, in fome measure, fupplied by cotton and fires; but these delicate animals require, in this ftate, being fed almoft perpetually, whilft the nourishment they receive fhould not only be prepared with great attention, but given in very fmall portions at a time.

Though I must admit, therefore, that I have never reared myfelf a bird of so tender an age, yet I have

happened to fee both a linnet and a goldfinch which were taken from their nefts when only two or three days old.

The firft of thefe belonged to Mr. Matthews, an apothecary at Kenfington, which, from a want of other founds to imitate, almoft articulated the words pretty boy, as well as fome other fhort fentences: I heard the bird myself repeat the words pretty boy; and Mr. Matthews affured me, that he had nei ther the note or call of any bird whatfoever.

This talking linnet died last year, and many people went from London to hear him fpeak.

*

The goldfinch I have before mentioned, was reared in the town of Knighton in Radnorshire, which I happened to hear, as I was walking by the house where it was kept.

I thought, indeed, that a wren was finging; and I went into the houfe to inquire after it, as that little bird feldom lives long in a cage.

The people of the house, however, told me, that they had no bird but a goldfinch, which they conceived to fing its own natural note, as they called it; upon which I ftaid a confiderable time in the room, whilft its notes were merely thofe of a wren, without the leaft mixture of a goldfinch.

On further enquiries, I found that the bird had been taken from the neft when only two or three days old, that it was hung in a window which was oppofite to a fmall gar. den, whence the nestling had un doubtedly acquired the notes of the wren, without having had any opportunity of learning even the call of the goldfinch.

These facts which I have ftated Leem to prove very decifively, that birds have not any innate ideas of the notes which are fuppofed to be peculiar to each fpecies. But it will poffibly be asked, why in a wild ftate they adhere fo fteadily to the fame fong, infomuch that it is well known, before the bird is heard, what notes you are to expect from him.

This, however, arifes entirely from the nestling's attending only to the inftruction of the parent bird, whilft it difregards the notes of all others, which may perhaps be fing ing round him.

YoungCanary-birds are frequent ly reared in a room where there are many other forts; and yet I have been informed that they only learn the fong of the parent cock.

Every one knows, that the common houfe-fparrow, when in a wild state, never does any thing but chirp this, however, does not arife from want of powers in this bird to imitate others; but because he only attends to the parental note.

But, to prove this decifively, I took a common fparrow from the neft when it was fledged, and educated him under a linnet; the bird, however, by accident heard a gold. finch alfo, and his fong was there fore, a mixture of the linnet and goldfinch.

I have tried several experiments, in order to observe from what circumstances birds fix upon any particular note when taken from the parents; but cannot fettle this with any fort of precifion, any more than at what period of their recording they determine upon the fong to which they will adhere.

I educated a young robin under a very fine nightingale; which

however, began already to be out of fong, and was perfectly mute in less than a fortnight.

This robin afterwards fung three parts in four nightingale; and the reft of his fong was what the birdcatchers call rubbish, or no parti. cular note whatsoever.

I hung this robin nearer to the nightingale than to any other bird; from which first experiment I conceived, that the fcholar would imitate the mafter which was at the leaft diftance from him.

From feveral other experiments, however, which I have fince tried, I find it to be very uncertain what notes the neftling will most attend to, and often their fong is a mixture; as in the inftance which I before stated of the sparrow.

I must own alfo, that I con. ceived, from the experiment of educating the robin under the night. ingale, that the fcholar would fix upon the note which it first heard when taken from the neft; I imagined likewise, that if the nightingale had been fully in fong, the inftruction for a fortnight would have been fufficient.

I have, however, fince tried the following experiment, which convinces me, fo much depends upon circumftances, and perhaps caprice. in the fcholar, that no general inference, or rule, can be laid down with regard to either of these fuppofitions.

I educated a neftling robin under a woodlark-linnet, which was full in fong, and hung very near to him for a month together: after which, the robin was removed to another houfe, where he could only hear a kylark-linnet. The confe. quence was, that the nettling did not fing a note of woodlark (though

I after.

I afterwards hung him again juft above the wood-lark linnet) but adhered entirely to the fong of the fky-lark linnet.

Having thus ftated the refult of feveral experiments, which were chiefly intended to determine, whether birds had any innate ideas of the notes, or fong, which is fuppofed to be peculiar to each fpecies, I fhall now make fome general obfervations on their finging; though perhaps the fubject may appear to many a very minute one.

Every poet, indeed, speaks with raptures of the harmony of the groves; yet even thofe, who have good mufical ears, feem to pay little attention to it, but as a pleafing noise.

I am also convinced (though it may seem rather parodoxical) that the inhabitants of London diftinguish more accurately, and know more on this head, than of all the other parts of the island taken together.

This feems to arife from two caufes.

The first is, that we have not more mufical ideas which are innate, than we have of language; and therefore even those, who have the happiness to have organs which are capable of receiving a gratification from this fixth fenfe (as it hath been called by fome) require, however, the best inftruction.

The orchestra of the opera, which is confined to the metropolis, hath diffused a good stile of playing over the other bands of the capital, which is, by degrees, communicated to the fidler and ballad-finger in the freets the organs in every church, as well as thofe of the Savoyards, contribute likewife to this improve

ment of mufical faculties in the Londoners.

If the finging of the ploughman in the country is therefore compared with that of the London blackguard, the fuperiority is infinitely on the fide of the latter; and the fame may be observed in comparing the voice of a country girl and London houfe-maid, as it is very uncommon to hear the former fing tolerably in tune.

I do not mean by this to affert, that the inhabitants of the country are not born with as good mufical organs; but only, that they have not the fame opportunities of learning from others who play in tune themselves.

The other reafon for the inhabit

ants of London judging better in relation to the fong of birds, arifes, from their hearing each bird fing diftinctly, either in their own or their neighbours shops; as alfo from a bird continuing much longer in fong, whilft in a cage, than when at liberty; the caufe of which I fhall endeavour, hereafter to explain.

Those who live in the country, on the other hand, do not hear birds fing in their woods for above two months in the year, when the confufion of notes prevents their attending to the fong of any particular bird; nor does he continue long enough in a place, for the hearer to recollect his notes with accuracy.

Befides this, birds in the fpring fing very loud indeed; but they only give fhort jerks, and fcarcely ever the whole compafs of their fong.

For thefe reafons, I have never happened to meet with any perfon, F 3

who

who had not refided in London, whose judgment or opinion on this subject I could the leaft rely upon; and a stronger proof of this cannot be given, than that most people, who keep Canary-birds, do not know that they fing chiefly either the titlark, or nightingale notes*.

Nothing, however, can be more marked than the note of a nightingale called its jug, which most of the Canary-birds brought from the Tyrol commonly have, as well as feveral nightingale ftrokes, or particular paffages in the fong of that bird.

I mention this fuperior know. ledge in the inhabitants of the capital, because I am convinced, that, if others are confulted in relation to the finging of birds, they will only mislead, instead of giving any material or useful information†.

Birds in a wild ftate do not commonly fing above ten weeks in the year; which is then alfo confined to the cocks of a few fpecies; I conceive, that this last circumftance arifes from the superior strength of the muscles of the larynx.

I procured a cock nightingale, a cock and hen blackbird, a cock and hen rook, a cock linnet, as also a

cock and hen chaffinch, which that very eminent anatomift, Mr. Hunter, F. R. S. was fo obliging as to diffect for me, and begged that he would particularly attend to the ftate of the organs in the different birds, which might be supposed to contribute to finging.

Mr. Hunter found the muscles of the larynx to be ftronger in the nightingale than in any other bird of the fame fize; and in all thofe inflances (where he diffected both cock and hen) that the fame mufcles were ftronger in the cock.

I fent the cock and hen rook, in order to fee whether there would be the fame difference in the cock and hen of a fpecies that would not fing at all. Mr. Hunter, however, told me, that he had not attended so much to their comparative organs of voice, as in the other kinds; but that, to the best of his recollection, there was no difference at all.

Strength, however, in thefe mufcles, feems not to be the only requifite; the birds must have alfo great plenty of food, which feems to be proved fufficiently by birds in a cage finging the greateft part of the year, when the wild ones do not

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