Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 2).djvu/187



The bullfinch in its natural state is by no means remarkable as a songster, but its power of imitation is so remarkable that it can be taught to pipe tunes with the sweetness and intonation of a clarionet. In Germany, where the finest piping bullfinches come from, boys are employed to pipe to the birds the whole day long. The consequence is that most of the bullfinches heard here pipe German airs. The two "free" tunes mostly affected in this country are "The Mousetrap" and "Polly Perkins," and these the birds will pipe perfectly as to time and tune. The teacher keeps his birds separate, and plays the tune to be learned on a flageolet or a bird-organ—preferably the former, as the bird-organ, while giving a mechanical precision of note, gives also a total absence of feeling. If they are permitted to hear other birds while being taught, they are apt to jumble up foreign notes with the air which they are learning, in a most absurd manner.

The sparrow is by no means a contemptible songster, its strain being soft, sweet, and varied. Its lively chirp is heard from first thing in the morning; and they often unite in a chattering chorus. It is but a note and a grace note, uttered first by one and then another; but the ensemble is pretty and musical.