New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-10

the fox appears the signal to fly Is given The
same note as the flying signal is used when there
Is suspicion Of danger on the ground except
that the note is prolonged instead of being quick
ly uttered. The instant the warning Of danger
from unknown enemy on the ground is heard
every bird in the flock ceases feeding. With
necks elongated, looking carefully in every d.
rection, the flock circles around until it has
covered an area great enough to show that the
alarm was grOundless.
when feeding in a field where the food Is
plentiful and Of the kind II likes the turkey has
a sound OF cOntentment, varying at the different
stages, until the final word from the patriarch
Of the flock checks the meal instantly and away
they 60 The turkey also has words or
sounds OF defiance often combined with the
gobble Of the male. It's vocabulary includes
ringing note Of oXultatiCn when he has con-
qCered a foe, and distinct and charac teristic eX
prcssions for envy, want, pain, pleasure. alarm
or comfort.
Generally the song Of the singing bird Is
merely a call for its mate When the canary
I'm its gildcd cage sings oudest it is usually
call Of agony, instead of pleasure. It is pour
Ing out music from its throat in the mad en-
dcaVor to call its absent mate to its side. Cor
rectly interpreted, ii IS an appeal for freedom,
an appeal for the happiness Of Old when. with
its mate it wandered free in the empire OF the
air The male singer has a love song which 1t
pours out in the prodigality Of its happiness
when the love dream is young. 1t has also
low soothing song which II sings to it's mate
while she is nesting The bird songs OF the
yond the courtship and breeding season. The
notes of the songbrd. therefore. are more or
less those Of want, Of pleasure and of love.
THE FLUENT HEN
I'm my Investigations l have found that the
hen bird OF the domestic chicken has as fluent
a command OF language as almost any member
OF the feathered tribe. She is a much more
fluent talker than the male, her lord and mas
ter and her vocabulary discounts anything thus
far discovered in this particular field of inVest-
1Tr~T DFt h. hon Sc al
stance, for three distinct purposes, and she has
many distinctive notes. She uses in seeking
the nest or when calling her mate one soft note;
another, Of triumphant rejoicing as she either
flies from the nest or to it. Likewise, she has
three songs Of distinct types, the love song,
happy response to the eager counting OF her
mate; the song Of indifference, when idly hunt
ing for food indicating no certain purpose III
her movements; the lullaby song, a low, Groom
ing. soothing note, hushing the young chickens
to sleep.
81 have frequently experimental with the ul-
laby song by initiating the low, soothing notes,
and little chickens held in the hands and thus
sung to in the language they understand VIII
quickly fall asleep. The mother hen has also
various notes for warning her brood. She uses
a harsh sharp combination Of cacke and cry to
warn them OF a snake or an unknown object on
the ground. while to notify them that she con
siders certain food unfit for them she utlIlzes
variation of the slumber song. A certain sharp,
prolonged note is used by the hen to keep
strange chickens from her brood, and now wen
the little fluffy mites understand the mothcr
tongue NAV be noted by observing in any poul-
try yard how twenty hens with as many broods,
nearly all Of the same age. will keep every mem
Der of their particular families in line. There IS
no mixing the babies in the chicken world
Every little chick knows its protector call, ana
the mother hen knows the individual progeny
for which she holds herself responsible.
There is too. among the birds "A silent IAN
guage II is used almost wholly by the males.
Let two cock birds strangers 10 each other,
meet on neutral territory. Is il to be war or
peacc2 The die is cast without exchange or
words or loss Of time. one flaps his wings, then
straiChtens the wing nearest the stranger, let
ting IL 60 az far az and not below the saddle
feathers rufIles up the feathers on his neck and
looks inquiringly at the other. II the other blrd
executes a half flop of the wings. places them
below the saddle feathers, raises the feathers
OF neck and sings a low note il is an evidence
Of humbencss. He il afraid Of his opponent
But, on the other hand. if he returns the de-
fant salutation In kind a battle royal follows.
The quail. Mormon Of the fowl family, is also
the possessor OF a vocabulary somewhat more
extensive than the majority OF his kind. but not
SO large as that Of the domestic hen. Because
Of the habits of the bird and the inability TO
catch his natural moods in captivity. little pro-
gress has thus far been made in interpreting
the sounds which comprise his language.
an the near future we shall be able 10 group
the language Of the various members Of the fowl
family into Il comprehensive whole and show
how they have been talking among themselves
for untold centuries and how the language OF
the birds is amply sufficient for their environ
ments and needs"
ONE or MlRCHlND'S DISCOVERIES.