1858.8 唱歌的鸟儿和它们的歌声

shiyi18

The Singing-Birds and their Songs
By Wilson Flagg
AUGUST 1858 ISSUE
SHARE
Those persons enjoy the most happiness, if possessed of a benevolent heart and favored by ordinary circumstances of fortune, who have acquired by habit and education the power of deriving pleasure from objects that lie immediately around them. But these common sources of happiness are opened to those only who are endowed with genius, or who have received a certain kind of intellectual training. The more ordinary the mental and moral organization and culture of the individual, the more far-fetched and dear-bought must be his enjoyments. Nature has given us in full development only those appetites which are necessary to our physical well-being. She has left our moral appetites and capacities in the germ, to be developed by education and circumstances. Hence those agreeable sensations that come chiefly from the exercise of the imagination, which may be called the pleasures of sentiment, are available only to persons of a peculiar refinement of mind. The ignorant and rude may be dazzled and delighted by physical beauty, and charmed by loud and stirring sounds; but those more simple melodies and less attractive colors and forms that appeal to the mind for their principal effect act more powerfully upon individuals of superior culture.


In proportion as we have been trained to be agreeably affected by the outward forms of Nature, and the sounds that proceed from the animate and inanimate world, are we capable of being made happy without resorting to expensive and vulgar recreations. It ought, therefore, to be one of the chief points in the education of youth, while teaching them the still more important offices of humanity, to cultivate and enliven their susceptibility to the charms of natural objects. Then would the aspects of Nature, continually changing with the progress of the seasons and the sounds that enliven their march, satisfy, in a great measure, that craving for agreeable sensations which leads mankind away from humble and healthful pursuits to those of a more artificial and exciting life. The value of such pleasures consists not so much in their cheapness as in their favorable moral influences, which improve the heart, while they lead the mind to observations that pleasantly exercise and develop, without tasking its powers. The quiet emotions, half musical and half poetical, which are awakened by listening to the songs of birds, belong to this class of refined enjoyments.

Magazine Cover image
View This Story as a PDF
See this story as it appeared in the pages of The Atlantic magazine.

Open
But the music of birds, though agreeable to all, conveys positive and durable pleasure only to those who have learned to associate with their notes, in connection with the scenes of Nature, a thousand interesting and romantic images. To many persons of this character it affords more delight than the most brilliant music of the opera or the concert. In vain, therefore, will it be said, as an objection, that the notes of birds have no charm, save that which is derived from association, and that, considered as music, they do not equal that of the most simple reed or flageolet. It is sufficient to remark, that the most delightful influences of Nature proceed from those sights and sounds that appeal to the imagination and affections through the medium of slight and almost insensible impressions made upon the eye and the ear. At the moment when these physical impressions exceed a certain mean, the spell is broken, and the enjoyment becomes sensual, not intellectual. How soon, indeed, would the songs of birds lose their effect, if they were loud and brilliant, like a band of instruments! It is their simplicity that gives them their charm.

As a further illustration of this point, it may be remarked that simple melodies have among all people exercised a greater power over the imagination than louder and more complicated music. Nature employs a very small amount of physical sensation to create an intellectual passion, and when an excess is used a diminished effect is produced. I am persuaded that the effect of a great part of our sacred music is lost by an excess of harmony and a too great volume of sound. On the same principle, a loud crash of thunder deafens and terrifies; but its low and distant rumbling produces an agreeable emotion of sublimity.

RECOMMENDED READING
A man in a suit sits in a tall chair above clouds and a crowd of smiley faces.
Why It’s So Lonely at the Top
ARTHUR C. BROOKS
A man cleans up confetti while surrounded by tourists in Times Square in New York.
Escaping Poverty Requires Almost 20 Years With Nearly Nothing Going Wrong
GILLIAN B. WHITE

How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive
JOSH GIESBRECHT
The songs of birds are as intimately allied with poetry as with music. The lark has been aptly denominated "a feathered lyric"" by one of the English poets; and the analogy becomes apparent when we consider how much the song of a bird resembles a lyrical ballad in its influence on the mind. Though it utters no words, how plainly it suggests a long train of agreeable images of love, beauty, friendship, and home! When a young person has suffered any severe wound of the affections, he seldom fails, if endowed with a sensitive mind, to listen to the birds as sharers in his affliction. Through them the deities of the groves seem to offer him their consolation. By indulging this habit of making companionship with the objects of Nature, all pleasing sights and sounds gradually become certain anodynes for his sorrow; and those who have this mental alembic for turning grief into a poetic melancholy can seldom be reduced to a state of absolute despondency. Poetry, or rather the poetic sentiment, exalts all our pleasures and soothes all our afflictions by some illusive charm, whether it be turned into the channel of religion or romance. Without this reflection of light from the imagination, what is the passion of love?And what is our love of beauty and of sweet sounds, but a mere gravitation?

The voice of every singing-bird has its associations in the minds of all susceptible persons who were born and nurtured within the precincts of its untutored minstrelsy. The music of birds is modulated in pleasant unison with all the chords of affection and imagination, filling the soul with a lively consciousness of happiness and beauty, and soothing it with romantic visions of memory,—of love, when it was an ethereal sentiment of adoration and not a passion, and of friendship, when it was a passion and not an expedience,—of dear and simple adventures, and of comrades who had part in them,—of dappled mornings, and serene and glowing sunsets,—of sequestered nooks and mossy seats in the old wood,—of paths by the riverside, and flowers that smiled a bright welcome to our rambling,—of lingering departures from home, and of old by-ways, overshadowed by trees and hedged with roses and viburnums, that spread their shade and their perfume around our path to gladden our return. By this pleasant instrumentality has Nature provided for the happiness of those who have learned to be delighted with the survey of her works, and with the sound of those voices which she has appointed to communicate to the human soul the joys of her inferior creation.

The singing-birds, with reference to their songs, may be divided into four classes. First, the Rapid Singers, whose song is uninterrupted, of considerable length, and uttered with fervor, and in apparent ecstasy. Second, the Moderate Singers, whose notes are slowly modulated, but without pauses or rests between their different strains. Third, the Interrupted Singers, who seldom modulate their notes with rapidity, and make decided pauses between their several strains, of which there are in general from five to eight or nine. Fourth, the Warblers, whose notes consist of only one or two strains, not combined into a song.

Magazine Cover image
Explore the August 1858 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.

View More
The canary, among foreign birds, and the linnet and bobolink, among American birds, are familiar examples of the first class; the common robin and the veery of the second; the wood-thrush, the cat- bird, and the mocking-bird, of the third; and the blue-bird, the pewee, and the purple martin, of the fourth class. It may be added, that some birds are nearly periodical in their habits of singing, pre- ferring the morning and evening, and occasional periods in other parts of the day, while others sing almost indifferently at all hours. The greater number of species, however, are more tuneful in the early morning than at any other hour.

June, in this part of the world, is the most vocal month of the year. Many of our principal songsters do not arrive until near the middle of May; and all, whether they come early or late, continue in song throughout the month of June. The bobolink, which is one of the first to become silent, continues vocal until the second week in July. So nearly simultaneous is the discontinuance of the songs of this species, that it might seem as if their silence were preconcerted, and that by a vote they had on a certain day, adjourned over to another year. If an unusually genial day occurs about the seventh of July, we may hear multitudes ofthem singing merrily on that occasion. Should this time be followed by two or three successive days of chilly and rainy weather, their tunefulness is so generally brought to a close during this period, that we may not hear another musical note from a single individual after the seventh. The songs of birds are discontinued as soon as their amorous dalliances and the care of their offspring have ceased. Hence those birds that raise but one brood of young during the season, like the bobolink, are the first to become silent.

No one of the New England birds is an autumnal warbler; though the song-sparrow often greets the fine mornings in October with his lays, and the shore-lark, after spending the summer in Labrador and about the shores of Hudson's Bay, is sometimes heard in autumn, soaring and singing at the dawn of day, while on his passage to the South. The bobolink, the veery, or Wilson's thrush, the red thrush, and the golden robin, are silent after the middle of July; the wood-thrush, the cat-bird, and the common robin, not until a month later; but the song-sparrow alone continues to sing throughout the summer. The tuneful season of the year, in New England, embraces a period of about four months, from the middle of April to the middle of August.

There are certain times of the day, as well as certain seasons of the year, when the birds are most musical. The grand concert of the feathered tribe takes place during the hour between dawn and sunrise. During the remainder of the day they sing less in concert, though many species are very musical at noonday, and seem, like the nocturnal birds, to prefer the hour when others are silent. At sunset there is an apparent attempt to unite once more in chorus, but this is far from being so loud or so general as in the morning. The little birds which I have classed in the fourth division are a very important accompaniment to the anthem of dawn, their notes, though short, serving agreeably to fill up the pauses made by the other musicians. Thus, the hair-bird (Fringilla Socialis) has a sharp and trilling note, without any modulation, and not at all melodious, when heard alone; but in the morning it is the chief harmonizer of the whole chorus, and serves, more than any other voice, to give unity and symphony to the multitude of miscellaneous parts.

There are not many birds whose notes could be accurately described upon the gamut. The nearest approach we can make to accuracy is to give some general idea of their time and modulation. Their musical intervals can be distinguished but with difficulty, on account of the rapidity of their utterance. I have often attempted to transcribe some of their notes upon the musical scale, but I am persuaded that such sketches can be only approximations to literal correctness. As different individuals of the same species sing very differently, the notes, as transcribed from the song of one individual, will never exactly represent the song of another. If we listen attentively, however, to a number of songs, we shall detect in all of them a theme, as it is termed by musicians, of which the different individuals of the species warble their respective variations. Every song is, technically speaking, a fantasia constructed upon this theme, from which none of the species ever departs.

It is very generally believed that the singing-birds are confined to temperate latitudes, and that the tropical birds have not the gift of song. That this is an error is apparent from the testimony of travelers, who speak of the birds in the Sandwich Islands and New Zealand as singing delightfully, and some fine songsters are occasionally imported in cages from tropical climates. The origin of this notion may be explained in several ways. It is worthy of notice that within the tropics the singing season of different species of birds does not occur at the same time. One species may be musical in the spring, another in summer, and others in autumn and winter. When one species, therefore, has begun to sing, another has ceased, so that, at whatever time of the year the traveler stops, he hears but few birds engaged in song.

In the temperate latitudes, on the contrary, as soon as the birds arrive, they commence building their nests, and become musical at the same time. If a stranger from a tropical climate should arrive in this country in the spring, and remain here during the months of May and June, he would hear more birds singing together than he ever heard at once in his own clime; but were he to arrive about the middle of July, when the greater number of our birds have discontinued their songs, he would probably, if he knew the reputation of the Northern birds, marvel a little at their silence. If there are as many birds singing at one time during the whole year, in the hot climates, as we hear in this country in the latter half of summer, the greater average would appear to be on the side of the former.

It may also be remarked, that the singing-birds of the tropics are not so well known as those of temperate latitudes which are inhabited by civilized men. The savages and barbarians, who are the principal inhabitants of hot countries, are seldom observant of the habits or the voices of the singing-birds. A musician of the feathered race, as well as a harpist or violinist, must have an appreciating audience, or his powers can never be made known to the world. But even with the same audience, the tropical singing-birds would probably be less esteemed than songsters of equal merit in the temperate latitudes; for, amid the stridulous and deafening sounds made by the insects in warm climates, the notes of birds would be scarcely audible.

We are still inclined, to believe, however, that there is a larger proportion of musical birds in the temperate than in the torrid zone, because in the former region there are more of those species that build low and live among the grass and shrubbery, and it is well known that the singing-birds are mostly of the latter description. In warm climates the vegetation consists chiefly of trees and tall vines, forming together an umbrageous canopy overhead, with but a scanty undergrowth. In temperate latitudes the shrubbery predominates, especially in the most northerly parts. Moreover, the grasses that furnish by their seeds a great proportion of the food of the smaller birds are almost entirely wanting in the torrid zone.

The birds that live in trees are remarkable for their brilliant plumage; those that live upon the ground and in the shrubbery are plainly dressed. This is a provision of Nature for their protection, as the ground-birds must have a predominance of tints that resemble the general hues of the surface of the earth. I do not know a single brightly-plumed bird that nestles upon the ground, unless the bobolink may be considered an exception. They are almost invariably colored like sparrows. The birds that inhabit the trees, on the other hand, need less of this protection, though the females are commonly of an olive or greenish yellow, which harmonizes with the general hue of the foliage, and screens them from observation, while sitting upon the nest. The male, on the contrary, who seldom sits upon the nest, requires a plumage that will render him conspicuous to the female and to the young, after they have left their nest. It is remarkable, that Nature, in all cases in which she has created a difference in the plumage of the male and female, has used the hues of their plumage only for the protection of the mother and the young, for whose advantage she has dressed the male parent in colors that must somewhat endanger his own safety.

The color of the plumage of birds seems to bear less relation to their powers of song than to their habitats; and as the birds that live in trees are commonly less tuneful, they are more brilliantly arrayed. The bird employs his song in wooing his mate, as well as in entertaining her after she is wedded; and it is not unlikely that Nature may have compensated those which are deficient in song by giving them a superior beauty of plumage. As the offices of courtship devolve entirely upon the males, it is the more necessary that they should be possessed of conspicuous attractions; but as the task of sitting upon the nest devolves upon the female, she requires more of that protection which arises from the conformity of her plumage with the general hue of the objects that surround her nest. While she is sitting, the plain hues of her dress protect her from observation; but when she leaves her nest to seek her companion, she is enabled by his brilliant colors the more easily to discover him. The male is diligent in providing for the wants of the offspring, and hence it is important that his dress should render him conspicuous. When the young birds have left the nest, upon seeing the flash of his plumage, they immediately utter their call, and by this note, which might not otherwise be sounded at the right moment, he detects them and supplies them with food. Should a bird of prey suddenly come into their neighborhood, he overlooks the plainly-dressed mother and offspring, and gives chase to the male parent, who not only escapes, but at the same time diverts the attention of the foe from his defenceless progeny.

But the birds that build low, either upon the ground or among the shrubbery, are exposed to a greater number and variety of enemies. Hence it becomes necessary that the males as well as the females should have that protection which is afforded by sobriety of color. Not being made conspicuous by their plumage, they are endowed with the gift of song, that they may make known their presence to their mate and their young by their voice. I have often thought that the song of the bird was designed by Nature for the benefit of the young, no less than for the entertainment of his mate. The sounds uttered by birds on account of their young always precede the period of incubation. The common hen begins to cluck several days before she begins to sit upon her eggs. In like manner the male singing-bird commences his song when the pair are making ready to build their nest. While his mate is sitting, his song reminds her of his presence, and inspires her with a feeling of security and content, during the period of her confinement. As soon as the young are hatched, they begin to learn his voice and grow accustomed to it, and when they fly from the nest they are prevented by the sound of it from wandering and getting bewildered. If they happen to fly beyond certain bounds, the song of the male parent warns them of their distance, and causes them to turn and draw near the place from which it seems to issue. Thus the song of the male bird, always uttered within a certain circumference, of which the nest is the centre, becomes a kind of sentinel voice, to keep the young birds within prudent limits.


It is not easy to explain why a larger proportion of the birds that occupy trees should be destitute of song, except on the supposition that in such elevated situations the young are more easily guided by sight than by hearing. Still there are many songsters which are dressed in brilliant plumage, and of these we have some examples among our native birds. These, however, are evident exceptions to the general fact, and we may trace a plain analogy in this respect between birds and insects. The musical insects are, we believe, invariably destitute of brilliant plumage. Butterflies and moths do not sing; the music of insects comes chiefly from the plainly-dressed locust and grasshopper tribes.




唱歌的鸟儿和它们的歌声
作者：威尔逊-弗拉格
1858年8月号
分享
如果拥有一颗仁慈的心，并受到普通财富环境的青睐，那些通过习惯和教育获得从他们身边的物体中获得快乐的能力的人，就能享受到最多的幸福。但是，这些常见的幸福源泉只向那些被赋予了天才，或接受了某种智力训练的人开放。个人的精神和道德组织和文化越是普通，他的享受就越是牵强和珍贵。大自然只给了我们充分发展的那些食欲，这些食欲是我们身体健康所必需的。她把我们的道德欲望和能力留在胚胎里，由教育和环境来发展。因此，那些主要来自于想象力锻炼的令人愉快的感觉，可以称为情感的快乐，只提供给具有特殊思想修养的人。无知和粗鲁的人可能会被身体的美感所迷惑，被响亮而动人的声音所吸引；但那些更简单的旋律和不太吸引人的颜色和形式，吸引心灵的主要效果，在文化程度高的人身上表现得更强烈。


当我们被训练成能被大自然的外在形式以及来自有生命和无生命世界的声音所影响时，我们就有能力在不求助于昂贵和庸俗的娱乐活动的情况下获得快乐。因此，在教给他们更重要的人类职责的同时，应该把培养和活跃他们对自然物体的魅力的敏感性作为青年教育的主要内容之一。这样一来，大自然的方方面面就会随着季节的变化而不断变化，而声音也会在很大程度上满足人们对愉快感觉的渴求，这种渴求导致人类从卑微和健康的追求转向更加人工和刺激的生活。这种乐趣的价值不在于其廉价，而在于其有利的道德影响，它能改善人们的心灵，同时引导人们进行观察，愉快地锻炼和发展，而不使其能力受到影响。聆听鸟类的歌声所唤醒的安静情感，一半是音乐，一半是诗意，属于这一类高雅的享受。

杂志封面图片
以PDF格式查看本故事
请看这个故事出现在《大西洋》杂志的页面上。

打开
但是，尽管鸟类的音乐对所有人来说都是顺耳的，但只有那些已经学会将它们的音符与大自然的景象联系在一起的人，才会传达出积极而持久的快乐。对许多具有这种特点的人来说，它比歌剧或音乐会中最精彩的音乐更令人高兴。因此，有人反对说，鸟类的音符没有任何魅力，除非是来自于联想，而且，作为音乐，它们不能与最简单的芦苇或旗杆琴相提并论，这是徒劳的。我们只需指出，大自然最令人愉快的影响来自于那些通过在眼睛和耳朵上产生的轻微和几乎不可见的印象来吸引人的想象力和情感的景象和声音。当这些物理印象超过一定的限度时，咒语就会被打破，享受就会变成感性的，而不是理性的。事实上，如果鸟类的歌声像乐器一样响亮，那么它们很快就会失去效果！正是因为它们的简单性，才使它们有机会与人交流。正是它们的简单性赋予了它们的魅力。

为了进一步说明这一点，我们可以说，在所有的人中，简单的旋律比更响亮、更复杂的音乐更能发挥想象力。自然界使用非常少量的身体感觉来创造一种智力激情，而当使用过量时，就会产生减弱的效果。我相信，我们很大一部分圣乐的效果是由于过度的和谐和过大的音量而丧失的。根据同样的原则，巨大的雷声会使人耳聋和恐惧；但其低沉而遥远的隆隆声会产生一种令人愉快的崇高情感。

推荐阅读
一个穿着西装的男人坐在一张高大的椅子上，上面有云和一群笑脸。
为什么在山顶如此孤独
亚瑟-C-布鲁克斯
在纽约的时代广场，一名男子在游客的簇拥下清理纸屑。
摆脱贫困需要近20年的时间，几乎没有出过错
Gillian B. White

圆珠笔是如何杀死草书的
乔什-吉斯布莱希特
鸟类的歌声与诗歌和音乐一样紧密相连。百灵鸟被一位英国诗人恰当地称为 "有羽毛的抒情诗"；当我们考虑到鸟儿的歌声在对心灵的影响方面与抒情歌谣有多么相似时，这种类比就变得很明显。虽然它没有说话，但它是多么清楚地暗示了一长串关于爱、美、友谊和家的令人愉快的形象啊 当一个年轻人在感情上受到任何严重的伤害时，如果他有一颗敏感的心，他很少会不听鸟儿的诉说，因为它们是他痛苦的分担者。通过它们，树林里的神灵似乎在向他提供安慰。通过养成这种与自然界的物体为伴的习惯，所有令人愉快的景象和声音都逐渐成为他悲伤的某些缓解剂；那些拥有这种将悲伤转化为诗意的忧郁的心理平衡器的人，很少会沦落到绝对绝望的状态。诗歌，或者说诗意的情感，通过某种虚幻的魅力提升我们所有的快乐，抚慰我们所有的痛苦，无论它是转入宗教还是浪漫的渠道。如果没有这种来自想象力的光的反射，爱的激情又是什么呢？我们对美和甜美声音的爱又是什么呢，只是一种引力？

每只歌唱的鸟的声音在所有易受影响的人的脑海中都有其联想，这些人是在未经训练的吟游诗人的辖区内出生和成长的。鸟儿的音乐与所有感情和想象力的和弦调和在一起，使灵魂充满了幸福和美丽的意识，并用记忆中的浪漫景象来抚慰它，--爱情，当它是一种空灵的崇拜情感而不是一种激情，友谊，当它是一种激情而不是一种权宜之计，--亲爱的和简单的冒险，以及参加过这些冒险的同志。 -斑驳的清晨，宁静的夕阳，古老森林中的隐秘角落和长满青苔的座位，河边的小路，以及对我们的漫游表示热烈欢迎的花朵，离家时的徘徊，以及被树木遮蔽、用玫瑰和紫檀树围起来的古老小路，它们在我们的路上散发出阴凉和芬芳，使我们高兴地返回。大自然通过这种令人愉快的手段，为那些已经学会对她的作品进行观察并对她指定的那些声音感到高兴的人提供了幸福，这些声音向人类的灵魂传达了她低级的创造所带来的欢乐。

唱歌的鸟儿，就其歌声而言，可分为四类。第一，快速的歌手，他们的歌声是不间断的，有相当长的时间，而且是在狂热和明显的陶醉中发出的。第二，中度歌手，他们的音符是缓慢调节的，但在不同的曲调之间没有停顿或休息。第三，中断型歌手，他们很少快速地调制他们的音符，并在他们的几个音节之间做决定性的停顿，一般来说，有五个到八个或九个。第四，莺鸟，它们的音符只由一或两个音轨组成，并没有组合成一首歌。

杂志封面图片
探索1858年8月号
查看本期的更多内容，并找到你要阅读的下一个故事。

查看更多
外国鸟类中的金丝雀，以及美国鸟类中的林雀和山雀，都是第一类熟悉的例子；普通知更鸟和黄雀属于第二类；柴鸡、猫鸟和嘲鸟属于第三类；而蓝鸟、皮威和紫貂则属于第四类。可以补充的是，有些鸟类的歌唱习惯几乎是周期性的，在早晨和傍晚时分，在一天中的其他时间段偶尔歌唱，而其他鸟类几乎在所有的时间段内都是无所谓的。然而，更多的物种在清晨时分比其他任何时间都更有韵味。

在世界的这个地方，六月是一年中最有声有色的月份。我们的许多主要鸣禽直到接近5月中旬才到达；而且所有的鸣禽，不管它们是早来还是晚来，都会在整个6月继续歌唱。山雀是最早变得沉默的鸟类之一，一直到7月的第二个星期才开始发声。这种鸟的鸣叫几乎是同时停止的，以至于看起来好像它们的沉默是事先约定好的，而且通过投票，它们在某一天休会到另一年。如果在7月7日左右出现了一个异常和煦的日子，我们可能会听到许多鸟儿在那一刻欢快地歌唱。如果在这个时候，连续两三天都是寒冷的雨天，它们的歌声一般都会在这个时期结束，以至于在第七天之后，我们可能再也听不到任何一个个体的音符。鸟类的歌声在它们的情侣关系和对后代的照顾停止后就会停止了。因此，那些在一季中只养育一窝幼鸟的鸟类，如山雀，是最先变得沉默的。

新英格兰的鸟类中没有一种是秋莺；尽管鸣雀经常用它的啼声来迎接十月的美好早晨，而岸雀在拉布拉多和哈德逊湾海岸度过夏天后，有时会在秋天听到它在黎明时分翱翔和歌唱，而它正在前往南方的路上。山雀、黄雀或威尔逊鸫、红鸫和金知更鸟，在7月中旬以后就沉默了；木犀鸟、猫鸟和普通知更鸟，直到一个月以后才会出现；但只有鸣雀在整个夏天继续歌唱。在新英格兰，一年中的歌唱季节包括了大约四个月的时间，从四月中旬到八月中旬。

在一天中的某些时间，以及一年中的某些季节，鸟类的音乐性最强。羽毛部落的盛大音乐会发生在黎明和日出之间的那一小时。在一天剩下的时间里，它们的音乐会较少，尽管许多物种在正午时分非常有音乐感，而且似乎像夜行鸟类一样，喜欢在其他人沉默的时候唱歌。在日落时分，它们显然试图再一次联合起来进行合唱，但这远没有早晨那么响亮或普遍。我把这些小鸟归为第四类，它们是黎明之歌的一个非常重要的伴奏，它们的音符虽然很短，但能很好地填补其他音乐家的停顿。因此，毛鸟（Fringilla Socialis）有一个尖锐的、颤抖的音符，没有任何调和，单独听起来一点也不悠扬；但在早晨，它是整个合唱团的主要和声者，比任何其他声音更有助于给众多杂乱的部分带来统一和交响。

没有多少鸟类的音符可以在音域上得到准确描述。我们能做的最接近准确性的方法是对它们的时间和调式给出一些总体概念。由于它们说话的速度太快，它们的音程很难分辨出来。我经常试图在音阶上抄写它们的一些音符，但我相信这样的草图只能是接近于字面的正确性。由于同一物种的不同个体的歌声非常不同，从一个个体的歌声中转录出来的音符，永远无法完全代表另一个个体的歌声。然而，如果我们仔细聆听一些歌曲，我们将在所有这些歌曲中发现一个主题，正如音乐家所称的那样，该物种的不同个体会发出各自的变体。从技术上讲，每首歌曲都是在这一主题上构建的幻想曲，没有一个物种会偏离这一主题。

人们普遍认为，会唱歌的鸟只限于温带地区，而热带的鸟没有唱歌的天赋。从旅行者的证词中可以看出这是一个错误，他们说桑德韦奇群岛和新西兰的鸟儿歌唱得很好，而且一些优秀的歌唱家偶尔也会从热带气候的笼子里进口。这种观念的起源可以从几个方面来解释。值得注意的是，在热带地区，不同种类的鸟类的歌唱季节并不在同一时间出现。一个物种可能在春天有音乐，另一个在夏天，而其他物种在秋天和冬天。因此，当一个物种开始唱歌时，另一个物种就已经停止了，所以，无论旅行者在一年中的什么时候停下来，他听到的鸟儿都很少在唱歌。

相反，在温带地区，鸟儿一到这里，就开始筑巢，同时也开始唱歌。如果一个来自热带气候的陌生人在春天来到这个国家，并在5月和6月期间留在这里，他将会听到比他在自己的气候中一次听到的更多的鸟儿在一起唱歌；但如果他在7月中旬左右到达，当我们的大部分鸟儿已经停止唱歌时，如果他知道北方鸟的声誉，他可能会对它们的沉默感到惊讶。如果在炎热的气候下，全年有同样多的鸟儿在同一时间唱歌，就像我们在这个国家在夏季后半段听到的那样，那么更多的平均数似乎是在前者一边。

还可以指出的是，热带地区的鸣禽并不像文明人居住的温带地区的鸣禽那样出名。热带国家的主要居民是野人和野蛮人，他们很少注意到唱歌的鸟的习惯或声音。有羽毛的音乐家，就像竖琴家或小提琴家一样，必须有一个欣赏的听众，否则他的能力永远不会被世界所知。但是，即使有同样的听众，热带鸣禽也可能不如温带地区具有同等价值的鸣禽受到尊重；因为在温暖气候下昆虫发出的嘈杂和震耳欲聋的声音中，鸟的音符几乎听不到。

然而，我们仍然倾向于相信，温带地区的音乐鸟类所占比例要比热带地区大，因为在前一个地区，有更多的低矮建筑和生活在草地和灌木丛中的物种，而众所周知，歌唱鸟类大多属于后者。在温暖的气候条件下，植被主要由树木和高大的藤蔓组成，在头顶上形成一个巨大的树冠，只有少量的树下植物。在温带地区，灌木丛占主导地位，尤其是在最北端的地区。此外，通过其种子为小型鸟类提供大量食物的草类，在热带地区几乎完全没有。

生活在树上的鸟类因其辉煌的羽毛而引人注目；生活在地面和灌木丛中的鸟类则衣着朴素。这是大自然对它们的保护，因为地面上的鸟类必须以类似于地球表面的一般色调为主。我不知道有哪一种羽毛鲜艳的鸟儿会在地面上筑巢，除非山雀可以被认为是一个例外。它们的颜色几乎无一例外地像麻雀。另一方面，居住在树上的鸟儿则不太需要这种保护，尽管雌鸟通常是橄榄色或绿黄色的，这与树叶的一般色调相协调，并使它们在坐在窝里时不受观察。相反，雄鸟很少坐在鸟巢上，它需要一种羽毛，以便在雌鸟和幼鸟离开鸟巢后，能使其显眼。值得注意的是，在所有她创造了雄鸟和雌鸟羽色差异的情况下，大自然使用它们的羽色只是为了保护母鸟和幼鸟，为了它们的利益，她把雄鸟父母打扮成一定程度上危及其自身安全的颜色。

鸟类羽毛的颜色似乎与它们的歌唱能力关系不大，而是与它们的栖息地有关；由于生活在树上的鸟类通常不太会唱歌，所以它们的羽毛就比较艳丽。鸟儿用歌声向配偶求爱，以及在她结婚后招待她；自然界可能通过赋予它们卓越的羽毛之美来补偿那些缺乏歌声的鸟儿，这也不是不可能的。由于求爱的任务完全由雄鸟承担，它们就更有必要拥有明显的吸引力；但由于坐在巢上的任务由雌鸟承担，它更需要保护，因为它的羽毛与巢周围物体的一般色调一致。当她坐着的时候，她衣服的朴素色调可以保护她不被观察到；但当她离开巢穴去寻找她的同伴时，她就会因为他的艳丽色彩而更容易发现他。雄鸟勤于为后代提供食物，因此，它的衣着应使其显眼，这一点很重要。当幼鸟离开巢穴时，看到雄鸟羽毛的闪光，它们会立即发出叫声，通过这个音符（否则可能不会在适当的时候响起），雄鸟会发现它们并为它们提供食物。如果有猎物突然来到它们的附近，它就会忽略衣着朴素的母亲和后代，而去追赶雄性父母，后者不仅逃脱了，而且还把敌人的注意力从它毫无防备的后代身上转移开。

但是，那些在地面上或灌木丛中建造低矮的鸟类，会面临更多数量和种类的敌人。因此，雄鸟和雌鸟都有必要得到保护，而这种保护是由清醒的颜色提供的。由于它们的羽毛并不显眼，它们被赋予了歌唱的天赋，以便它们可以通过声音向配偶和幼鸟表明自己的存在。我常想，鸟儿的歌声是大自然为幼鸟的利益而设计的，而不是为了娱乐它的配偶。鸟类因其幼鸟而发出的声音总是在孵化期之前。普通母鸡在开始坐在蛋上的几天前就开始咯咯叫。同样，雄性鸣禽也是在这对鸟儿准备筑巢时开始唱歌。当它的配偶坐着的时候，它的歌声会提醒它的存在，并在它被禁闭期间给它带来安全感和满足感。幼鸟一出壳，就开始学习它的声音，并逐渐习惯于它的声音，当它们从巢中飞出时，它的声音会阻止它们徘徊和迷失方向。如果它们碰巧飞出了一定的范围，雄性亲鸟的歌声就会警告它们的距离，并使它们转过身来，靠近它似乎发出的地方。因此，雄鸟的歌声总是在一定的范围内发出，而鸟巢是这个范围的中心，它成为一种哨兵的声音，使幼鸟保持在谨慎的范围内。


很难解释为什么占据树上的鸟类中，有很大一部分是没有歌声的，除非假设在这种高处，幼鸟更容易被视觉而不是听觉所引导。但仍有许多鸣禽身着艳丽的羽毛，在我们的本土鸟类中就有一些这样的例子。然而，这些都是一般事实的明显例外，在这方面我们可以在鸟类和昆虫之间找到一个简单的类比。我们认为，有音乐的昆虫无一例外地没有绚丽的羽毛。蝴蝶和飞蛾不唱歌；昆虫的音乐主要来自衣着朴素的蝗虫和蚱蜢部落。