| Show A PAIR OF BLUEBIRDS how flow they talk to each other in a low and farnest earnest twitter one advantage of studying two birds birde i of a kind at the same time is to observe i tho the talk tail between them which his has I 1 great interest for me this pair were exceedingly talkative at first uttering ut terino c not only the usual musical three syll I 1 ble warble or call which lanier apts aptly calls the heavenly word but often a soft twittering talk of varying tion and irregular irre 0 ular length which was certainly the most interesting inte interesting bird talk I 1 ever heard when they could could not n ot see 1110 they in indulged in it more freely with changing clia nging tones at different times and after they become accustomed to the room and its inhabitants it was neither so frequent nor so car earnest liest often at night when one perhaps in a dream fell oft off the perch I 1 heard much low tender talk almost in a whisper before all was quiet again and when another bird flew wildly around the room there was always a rem remark ark or two in an interested bone tone tile the male did most of the talking talking currying carrying on often for a long ion time a con 1 stant flow of what so sounded marvelously like comments and criticism 5 while his mate replied occasionally with the usual call certain notes plainly had a specific meaning even to tile the others in the room one in particular was peculiar and low but upon uj 0 n its utterance every bird became instantly silent and looked at the cage cage while till the bluebirds themselves were cerii so absorbed gazing apparently into blink blank space that I 1 could cisily put my hands land on them before they observed me for I 1 or several minutes this low note would be repeated and ill all the birds stare at nothing I 1 till I 1 began begaii n to feel almost uncomfortable for table as I 1 have done one at similar star ing at bothin nothing on the part of an animals one can hardly resit resist the feeling that these creatures creature see some thing too intangible for our eyes on one occasion when the male uttered this note the female was just about to ca cat t she stood as if petrified with head halfway down to the food for two or three minutes what I 1 have called talk was a very low twitter in a conversational tone on one note not at all in a singing tone like the usual warble or call I 1 have also heard beard it from wild bluebirds when I 1 could get near enough 0 from the first as said above the male did most of the talking and the habit grew upon him till he became a regular babbler stopping on the top tell perch I 1 and keeping it up persistently all day I 1 long oai tig I 1 thin think it arose from the fact that hit the k greater reater number of birds in the lie room were thrushes who 1 san sang very softly without opening the mouth me uth with this gentle ripple rip pie of song tho bluebirds talk harmonized perfectly and he almost entirely discontinued con tinned his lovely song himself in talk by the hour Stran strange cre to say I 1 very soon noticed that his I 1 mate did not approve of it and would not stand on oil tile perch beside liiro him while he persisted persi stud in it at first aill turned sharply towards him and lie sh ved that he under understood tood her wishes by ceasing for but as tile the habit grew and lie ho was not so easily silenced she more and more deserted his side and after two or three weeks I 1 beard occasionally a e feudo remonstrance from her I 1 do not believe a really harsh tone can conic come from a bluebird throat threat one day they were taking their usual midday nap on the same perch perell when a thrush across the window began his low song that starred up the bluebird and lie added his hii talk which awakened his mate she endured it for about live seconds and then she suddenly stretched the wing nearest him so tar that lie was dobli obliged ed 0 to move away when she instantly install aly i hopped down herself olive thorns milter in atlantic |
