Zoological recreations / By W.J. Broderip.

  • William Broderip
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Zoological recreations / By W.J. Broderip. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    sively that birds have not any innate ideas of the notes which are supposed to be peculiar to each species. But it will possibly be asked, why, in a wild state, they adhere so steadily to the same song, insomuch that it is well known, before the bird is heard, what notes you are to expect from him ? This, however, arises entirely from the nestling’s attending only to the instruction of the parent bird, whilst it disregards the notes of all others, which may, perhaps, be singing around him. Young Canary birds are frequently reared in a room where there are many other sorts, and yet I have been informed that they only learn the song of the parent cock. Every one knows that the common house-sparrow, when in a wild state, never does anything but chirp ; this does not, however, arise from want of power in this bird to imitate others, but because he only attends to the parental note.” Two points in this interesting description wTill be noted by the observer, and the questions will occur—how w7as the first bird of each species taught, and is not the assertion touching the sparrow somewhat bold ? The difficulty surrounding the first is more apparent than real; for, if it be granted that species were created, all the distinctions of voice and plumage follow of course ; and it will equally follow that they have been regularly transmitted down to the present period in such species as have not become extinct. With regard to the second we shall permit Mr. Barrington to speak for himself, for he has proved the fact: — “To prove this decisively, I took a common sparrow from the nest when it was fledged and educated him under a linnet; the bird, however, by accident heard a goldfinch also, and his song wras, therefore, a mixture of the linnet and goldfinch.” The same experimentalist educated a young robin, under a very fine nightingale, which, however, began already to be out of song, and wras perfectly mute in less than a fortnight: the scholar afterwards sang three parts in four nightingale, and the rest of his song was what the bird-catchers call “rubbish,” or no particular note whatever. Bechstein observes that nearly all birds when young will learn some strain whistled or played to them every day ; but those only whose memory is retentive will abandon their natural song and adopt fluently the air that has been taught them. In proof of this position, he adduces the cases of the goldfinch and bullfinch, stating that a young goldfinch will, indeed, learn some part of the melody played to a bullfinch, but will never repeat the lesson so perfectly as the latter, and that this difference is not caused by the greater or less flexibility of the organ of the voice, but rather by the superiority of the bullfinch’s memory.
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