Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 3 of 9.djvu/32

 the female; and she, at this time, seems to be decidedly happier low down amongst the bushes than higher up amongst the trees. She travels unconcernedly from bush to bush in search of food, and he follows her, but, owing to his frequent fits of excitement, often lags some little distance behind. This is especially the case when she happens to pass through some dense thicket, such as honeysuckle (Lonicera Periclymenum), to which he has followed her, and in the middle of which he is entirely concealed. In such a place he will pause and burst forth into a curious jumble of musical and unmusical strains. At first you hear a number of highly pitched squealing sounds, then a pause, then a series of perfect imitations of different species, such as the Nightingale, Garden-Warbler, Whitethroat, Marsh-Warbler., Starling, Linnet, or even the "chuckle" of the Blackbird; then again a pause, or perhaps without a break his true song, at first uttered in a whisper that is scarcely audible, then rising and swelling to a pitch of almost fury, and finally finishing with his wonderful liquid and beautiful notes. Walking round the bush in which he was thus singing. I have tried to get a glimpse of him, generally without success, but occasionally I have had an opportunity of watching him closely; the distended throat and quivering body bear evidence to the tremendous effort necessary to produce some of the sounds. Some of the quiet whispering notes are produced with the bill scarcely open at all, but they nevertheless seem to require considerable power. After singing thus for some minutes he again bethinks himself of the female, who, in the meantime, having passed on regardless of his performance, is possibly some distance away. He therefore goes in search of her, and if unable to find her, calls to her, a summons which promptly elicits a note in reply; or the reverse may be the case, when she, missing his companionship, calls to him, opening her bill very wide and producing a harsh grating sound. As a rule he knows in which direction she has gone, and bursting out of his hiding place and flying towards her with the slow