The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1908-11-12
AMONG BIRDS.
Some Observations Of The Accomplish
nentS of Animals.
THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS INHERENT
November st. Nicholas.)

|
only gain through great application.
1t would take long time for a
boy to learn to make the sort of
snare that spider spins instructive
ly. and a colony of beavers can build
a better dam than can crowd of
unframed men.
One of the human accomplishments
hard to learn is ventriloquis,n. 1t
seems to be gift which comes to
but few Of the human species; yet
among birds there are species every
individual of which possess the pow
er of making the voice seem to come
from another spot than that in which
the owner is located.
There seems to be little reason for
this in most cases, but still there
must be some, for nature is very
economical in bestowing her gifts,
and one may be sure that the pos
session of the power argues it's use
fulness. The first example of ven
triloGuism which will occur to most
people is the voice Of the mourning
dove. | suppose that every boy has
been fooled by this bird. l know
that I was, and was delighted when
| discovered, after walking around q
tree in the orchard, that the voice
did not come from far away but
close at hand.
When the mourning dove utters
his call he swells up air-sacs in his
breast and neck, and these act sort
Of sounding chamber, which tends TO
hold and repress the sound, as a
sound is made in barrell. The emu
- he Same qsal:ty in RI, voice. It
is as though these birds swallow their
voices.
The crow has some notes which
are very ventriloquial in quality.
One note in particular is much like
the bark of distant dog, so much
so, in fact, that | had trouble in con-
vincing my friend that it was the
voice Of a crow about three hundred
feet away and not that of distant
dog. The chickadee has a call-note
of such quality that it's source is al
ways Uncertain until the bird is To-
Gated.
The oven birds teacher! teach
er" always seems to come from sew
eral feet higher than where the bird
is actually standing.
The thrushes, at least the wood
thrush and the robin, have a pecul-
lar habit Of singing to themselves,
as it were. Often, as ! have been
sitting in the woods, a wood thrush
has been singing, say, thirty feet
away, which l supposed was at least
200 yards away until / discovered
the bird. The whispered song is
perfect so far as phrasing and notes
are concerned, but in a very low
key.
] have heard a European thrush
sing in the cage Of the zoo when the
notes could not be heard farther than
fifteen feet. With my ear within
three feet the song was as perfect
and beautiful as in the ordinary
way.
Why these birds sing so, have no
idea.
The peculiar wattles on the neck
of guinea fowl had no significance
to me until one day when | was max
ing a careful drawing Of wild
guinea fowl. The wild guinea cock
has wattles as the domestic one, only
exaggerated. I noticed that when
the cocks beak was toward me his
harsh call was louder. Then | motto
ed that when his beak was open the
lower mandible, being lowered, al
most filled the space between the
two side wattles, thus making a cup,
and that the notes were thrown by
sort of megaphone, or just as a boy
throws his voice by making a cup of
his hands.