Show ROBIN A FAMED ventriloquist the most accomplished mimic among birds the familiar robin is at times a ventriloquist the bird seated boated only a few yards off la is flinging and the sound appears to come from some borne other bird at a distance when sing ing thus the beak Is kept closed and only the ruffling of the feathers feat hersi of the throat shows that the robin la is singing at all such a power might be useful especially to a bird like tile the blackcap which sometimes flings when sitting on the nest As regards mimicry the starling starlin gla la our moat accomplished mimic ile he will sing so like the song thrush and blackbird that it Is hard to tell the difference and in autumn he bo gives a fine imitation of tile the curlew the blackbird as a rule Is not a ml mimic mic yet relates that it has been heard to crow like the cock land and the writer of these theae notes had the pleasure of hearing it do so on one occasion sometimes the imitation la Is unconscious na as in the case of the jackass penguin which according to darwin makes a loud noise very like the braying of an ass london field |