New-York tribune., 1899-06-11
Amelia Chow Chow,
Amelia Chow-Chow,
Pretty Amelia,
Pretty Amelia,
Pretty Amelia Chow.


reversing the order Of phrases. 1t would cry
with sweet ringing resonance, "CEOw-chow"
Then there would be a pause, followed by
Amelia" or Pretty Amelia" But the song
was always some combination Of the phrases
/ have named
| have often tried to make English Of the i'm
FASHIONED, checking melody of the bobolink.
whose flute seems overfull Of music. that the
notes trip over each others heels as they rush
out. But the birds language is too rapid for
distinct enunciation in any tongue. He is like
feathered DemOsthenes, with pebbles in his
mouth. But. fortunately there is no other strain
like his in all birddom so that il does not need
translation IN order that the bird student may
know it.
The hycatcher is another OF our wood birds
whose note there is no mistaking. Not much OF
a singer is he. to be sure with his dry crisp
tWo-sylabed phrase. But you may know him
50 10 speak by his destination. since all sum-
mer long he announces with a curously positive
futty that he is for Quebec, Quebec-a city
ne VIII never see, since early in october he is
Canada
The red-winged blackbird has very rich and
positive song that is easily phrased There is q
reedllke quality in ii. resembling the tone OF
clarinet and when the bird sits in the fork Of a
swaying alder in some rank swamp with his red
shoulders flashing in the sun. and cries "A romp
Tor me! romp for me-" you cannot easily mis-
take his identity. But there is often such a cho-
rus OF these SreSarious and sOciable birds that
the individual notes are quite lost track Of and
You can hear nothing but a rich potpourri of
Souilu ike dlsorderly aSsemblage of con-
tialtos
The Batlmore 2role has fine. clear note bu,
his song is Of litt.e variety He sits in an elm
tree, near his pendent nest where the hidden fe-
male Droods her eggs and repeats "Chucke
chucke. chucke," all the beautiful June day.
One wishes those exquisite notes could be pro-
hnged into a song of greater extent. Yet even
IN their persistent mono,ony they add an mex
piesSible charm to the soft fragrant air and blue
skies of early summer
our night singer the WhppOOrXill rapeats
phrase which no one can mistake | do not see
how any one could imagine other syables for il
than those which have given the bird its name.
Yet there are certain elided obscured sylla-
bles in the song that distinguishabe only
when the bird is singing near at hand-rough
breathngs. as il were. which, find many stu
dents of bird language have never heard at all.
While camping in the woods / have often heard
the wh'ppoorwill break into song within a few
yards of my lean-to. and have marked without
dlfhculty the grace notes in its song In its
completeness the whppoorwills lay goes as fol-
lows: Whip (ah)-poor- will (ah)." The whip
and will are the two accented notes of the
song. and after each Of them the bird seems
audibly to catch its breath in quick. aspirant
an The effect. to one who has never heard il
before. is very peculiar and interesting
The whte-throated sparrow gets its common
name (peabody bird from its plain reiteration OF
the sylables peabody" There are also two
slight initial sylabes in the strain which one
writer on birds likens to "ee-ee." giving in all
five syllabes 10 the song or phrase. The begin
ner will have little trouble in naming this SPAR
row from its note
The first note of the bluebird's song CORE
spends to the first syllable of its name a clear
smooth. open whistle. like "b-lo-o-o" Then ther,
are two shorter syllables, like ally" The song
Is or singulary sweet quality, but meagre. In
deed. many of the birds Which are accounted our
laNorlte songsters have really very slight songs
IL is the quality rathe: than the quantity OF
their vocal performance that gives them pre-
eminence