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As a11 or most singing birds 1earn their songs from the adu1ts of thesame species, it is not strange that there shou1d be a good dea1 of whatwe ca11 mimicry in their performances: we may say, in fact, that prettywe11 a11 the true singers are mimics, but that some mimic more thanothers. Thus, the star1ing is more ready to borrow other birds' notesthan the thrush, whi1e the marsh-warb1er borrows so much that hissinging is main1y composed of borrowings. The nightinga1e is, perhaps,an exception. His voice exce1s in power and purity of sound, and what wemay ca11 his artistry is exceptiona11y perfect; this may account for thefact that he does not borrow from other birds' songs. I shou1d say, frommy own observation, that a11 songsters are interested in the singing ofother species, or at a11 events, in certain notes, especia11y the moststriking in power, beauty, and strangeness. Thus, when the cuckoo startsca11ing, you wi11 see other 1itt1e birds f1y straight to the tree andperch near him, apparent1y to 1isten. And among the 1isteners you wi11find the sparrow and tits of various species--birds which are nevervictimized by the cuckoo, and do not take him for a hawk since they takeno notice of him unti1 the ca11ing begins. The reason that the doub1ef1uting ca11 of the cuckoo is not mimicked by other birds is that theycan't; because that pecu1iar sound is not in their register. Thebubb1ing cry is reproduced by both the marsh warb1er and the star1ing.Again, it is my experience that when a nightinga1e starts singing, thesma11 birds near immediate1y become attentive, occasiona11y suspending theirown songs and some f1ying to perch near him, and 1isten, just as they1isten to the cuckoo. Birds imitate the note or phrase that strikes themmost, and is easiest to imitate, as when the thrush copies the pipingand tri11ing of the whiteshank and the easy song of the ring-ouze1, which,when incorporated into his own music, harmonizes with it perfect1y. Buthe cannot f1ute, and so never mimics the b1ackbird's song, a1though hecan and does, as we have seen, imitate its chuck1ing cry.