The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-09
HUNTERS USE or BIRD CALLS.
The Wonderful Oextcrity of Hunters
in Learning the Bird Language.


From the London SPECTATOR
The difference between the notes of in
vitation made by various shore fowl-stiats.
gray plover, golden ployer, ringed plover,
knots and sandpipers-is so slight that no
one but fowler would notice them. Yet
to these men the difference is as great
as that between the sound of French grd
English. a really first-class gunner will
sit in creek in August and call The birds
up, if within hearing and inclined to move
IN any order you like TO name Even Sch
closely allied birds as the curlew and the
whimbrel nave different notes. though. as
they are SO often associated on the
marshes. one species will often answer 10
The cal made by the other probably in
the expectation Of finding some of its own
tIibe ~ che same place. Ii is not a little
surprising that these different birds. most
OF WHICH feed in company, should not have
learned common "all fowls tongue" but
they have not.
We once saw a large mixed flock Of
gray plover, knots and stints, flying past
en- the muds, at distance of Some ninety
yards. gunner noticed that there were
two or three golden plover among them.
These are easy to call and all fowl are
more likely to answer 70 the call when
only two or three of the same species. IRE
together. The gunner, therefore, whistled
the golden plover's note. and from the lAg
flock of some sixty birds the pair Of golden
plovers instantly flew out, wheeled around.
and passed within fifty yards. answering
tae cal in their own language PERHAPS
the best Instance of the dexterity of the
gunners in learning bird language was re-
Gently recorded in the Westminster Ga
zelte 1t is credited TO a fowler who shot
the onfy specimen OF, the broad billed sand
piper ever killed in Norfolk When Down
on the muds listening to the notes of the
shore birds, he distinguished one which
he did not know. He initiated il, the bird
answered, flew up to him and was shot.
Ii does not follow that talkative, garru-
lous species really have more to saw TO
one another than others. Like other chat
tefboxes, they like to hear themselves
and do not listen to other people. Start
inss, for instance, which seem almost to
talk and certainly can initiate other
birds when engaged in their curiou.
song" which seems so like conversa-
uonal variety entertainment are all the
time enjoying a monologue. No other
starting listens On the other hand.
starlings, when they have ANYTHING to
say as when nesting or quarreiing for
places when going to roost, use quite diff
ferent notes. OF all bird voices the song
of the swallow is most like human speech
not our speech, bur like the songs which
the Lapp or such outaudish races sing a
Lapp woman sings a song just like that
of a swallow at dawn. Yet the swallows
seem really to say little or nothing to one
another, and never come 10 each others
call. But the varieties of bird speech.
and the possibilities of interchange OF
ideas. are very great. If. for instance
there is any real foundation for the sto-
ries of the rock trials and stork trials
speech must play a considerable part in
the proceedings