The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-30
"A Message From
The "Bird Man.

+AluUuSu dS sldE do VIC huo"p liz
lone really put his head into Mr..
Gorst's mouth and looked around,
as he told the people at Chautau-
Iqua, they might, we really believe
that the "bird man" who could
!trill and sing and whistle just like
- bird, had no artificial whistle in
This mouth. Through the most care
ful study of the birds themselves,
i'and through long practise in imita-
Ting them, he has come to the point
where he can SO clearly initiate
Them that he lgets the birds all
smixed up thinking that he is one
aof them.
From the very beginning of his
"talk" when he whistled Mendel-
sssohn's Spring Song" in Mocking
bird style to the very end when
jhe described the evening hymn of
1.-THE Hermit Thrush as he has heard
1T sing in the woods of New Hamp-
tshire at sunset he was altogether
enjoyable and different from almost
every other person most of us
llhave ever heard.
Initiated Birds Perfectly
And when he started to show us
Elhow the different birds talk, he
tsstartled JUS by his ability TO make
Nhem sound ipersactly like the bird
hitself."
1T we had not seen him there
con the stage, when he sung the
scanary's song, we would have
tthought we were ihearing the can
larry that lives next door to us,
Hsinging his little throat out with
1.-THE Joy of life, but 1T was really
1.-THE Bird Man" up on the stage.
Then, las he sang the bluebird's
song, lit sounded just like the song
ltof that beautiful little friend who
itcomes out of hiding place so early
lin the spring, with his blithe mes
Usage of happiness for which he is
iinow 80 widely known. Mr.. Gorst
told us Just exactly how he sung
this song, what letters he used and
NMhat tones he sounded, and how
Hong 1T took to sing 1t Gust a Sec
sond and "a half and just what key
l,the bluebird sang it in Ithe key
tof ID Major), and yet try as hard
las we can, we cannot even make
zone single note that sounds like
bit. In fact he explained the chart
The had made which describes the
different kinds IOf whistles and
ssounds and the letters which stand
lifor those sounds, but, though many
Juniors were trying to make those
ssounds as they came out of the
|lbig xent "a week ago Friday night.
tsomehow or other they did not
ksound as Mr.. tGorst's whistles sound
I,ed. He said the principal letters
ahe used were %. i. C. p, e, W, h. X.
hand t, and said that he could get
ssix ,octaves above &c, or so high that
She sounded exactly like :squeaky
tshoes Which 1T did!
One of the most interesting
fittings he did was to whistle two
tones together, and sometimes,
!even three. This Is very wonder
tful thing for "a human to do. If
you're not sure just how wonderful
lit is, try 1t yourself.
!Enalish Sparrow Can Learn to Sing
Although we think that each bird
has one song that it sings most OF
1.-THE time, he showed us that he
hcould prove that many birds have
fseveral songs, and often sing the
asame songs with many variations.
IlFor instance, many of us think that
THE little oven bird says teacher.
,tteacher" all the time. Mr.. Gorst
thinks lit does too, but he says he
Ilhas counted mine different ways
tthat he has heard It say that same
WORD, as he sang lor whistled) all
Etof them to us.
Another thing he taught us who
Thought that most birds songs were
sjust 'happensos" was that the
.songs Of most birds are all planned
,out or organized-that there is a GER
tain rythm. a certain number OF
sounds and beats, a clearly marked
beginning and definite end. just as
good poetry always has.
The robins song was so natural
that most people in the tent smiled
ito one another, recognizing the
voice of their tame little red breast
led friend. But when he told us the
song of the beautiful scarlet tanager