Those  who  have  attended  minutely  to  the  language
of  fear,  alarm,  or  defiance  among  birds,  cannot  fail
to  have  remarked  the  considerable  variety  both  of
notes  and  intonation  in  the  same  species.  Thus,  as
White  of  Selborne  remarks,  "  when  the  hen  turkey
leads  forth  her  young  brood,  she  keeps  a  watchful
eye,  and  if  a  bird  of  prey  appear,  though  ever  so
high  in  the  air,  the  careful  mother  announces  the
enemy  with  a  little  inward  moan  and  watches  him
with  a  steady  and  attentive  look;  but  if  he  approach,
her  note  becomes  earnest  and  alarming,  and  her  out-
cries are  redoubled  t-''  In  the  instance  of  a  cock  bird
expressing  fear  or  giving  an  alarm  to  the  hen  of
the  approach  of  danger  near  the  nest,  the  tones  seem
to  be  varied  so  as  to  give  her  due  notice  either  to
keep  close  and  still,  or  to  make  her  escape  with  as
much  caution  as  she  can.  "  This  note,5'  observes
Mr.  Syme,  "is  only  comprehended  by  birds  of  the
same  species,  though  we  have  certainly  seen  birds  of
different  genera  appear  as  if  alarmed  by  this  note  of
fear  sounded  by  a  bird  of  a  different  species  or  genus  ;
but  whether  it  was  the  note  that  alarmed  them,  or
our  presence,  we  cannot  say.  But  we  are  pretty  sure
the  notes  of  parent  birds  and  the  chirp  of  their  young,
*  J.  R.
