English Birds Of Song

Jüi round numbers the chieí song turas of England anaount to about 25, among which the nightingale reigns chief and snpreme. It is almost impossible to frame any accurate table of the comparatiye beauty and merit of these varied and happy songsters, but the attempt has been made by an earnest student of nature, who devoted many years to this one express subject, and some of his notes are of carious interest. At the head of the whole list stands the sweet bird of night for mello-wness of tone, compass and execution and an inborn plaintiveness of melody which is almost wholly his owii. Pre-eminent, too, among the bear.ties of its strain is its infiuite variety, as manyas 16 different beginnings aad closes having been noted in the song of a single bird. Beginning, like many a famous master of eloquence, in a sound of infinite and tender softness, he gradually breaks into deeper and fuller expression, reserving all his strength as if for some stuiden touches of passion and delight, and then dying away into a fine and delicate thread of such exquisite and keen sweetness as to pierce the very heart. In the calm stillness of a summer evening this dainty note may be heard through half a mile of silent, listening woodland. Next to the nightingale come the three happy singers - the skylark, woodlark and titlark - each ing a special excellence oí nis own, the two latter singing both while on the wing and when at rest, their song being full of sweetness, variety and swift changes, and the flrst surpassing even the nightingale in the rapid snatches of sprightly joy with which he rises up toward the blue ether - And, ever rising, wins his liquid way. Tben f ollow the whole throng of finches, headed by the linnet, who stands flfth on the entire list and carries off (in these days of competitive examination) 74 marks out of a possible 100 for compasa, execution, sprightliness, plaintiveness and mellow tone. Par lower down on the list come the better known and more popular methodists, the blackbird, the thrush and the white throat, the reed warblers and the robin - who, by the way, during the silent autumnal days deserves a whole column to himself. To these, however, must be added the blackcap, who, for beauty, power and flutelike brilliancy of song, excels all other of these happy minstrel but the nightingale