Fourth—The notes of fear or alarm, when danger approaches the nest.
Fifth—The note of alarm, or war-cry, when a bird of prey appears.
Sixth—The note the parent-birds utter to their brood, and the chirp or note of the young.
The note of the young may be again divided into two; that which they utter while in the nest, and the chirp after they have left it; for they are very distinct sounds or notes; to which may be added, a soft, murmuring kind of note, emitted by the male, while he is feeding the female in the nest; and also by her while she is receiving the food. The call-note; the warble of love; and the notes of defiance, or prelude to battle, seem only to be understood by birds of the same species, at least in a wild state. Perhaps, in a state of domestication, birds of different genera, if nearly allied, may partially comprehend these notes, as the canary bird does the notes of the siskin, the goldfinch, and the linnet.
All the notes comprised in the song of birds convey delight to the mind of a lover of nature; but the bird-fanciers only prize their love warble, and notes of defiance; these notes, and these only, he considers to be their song. The musical notes of birds, whether of love or war, are sweet, and really charming in themselves; but they perhaps pour on the mind a greater degree of pleasure than mere sound is capable of conveying—we mean the recollections of youthful days, of endearing incidents, or of scenes connected with country pleasure. We ourselves prefer the mellow, plaintive melody of the soft-billed species; but others give the palm to the cheerful warble of the hard-billed tribe; which of these two styles is the sweetest melody we cannot determine. Both warbles may be equally fine; and the preference, perhaps, may depend on taste and feeling. But it is allowed, by all who have an ear for music, or rather, we should say, who have an ear and love for simple natural melody, that the song or warble of birds is truly delightful; but all their musical notes cease as soon as the brood is hatched.—Montagu—Syme—Rennie.
Soporific, a. Causing sleep, opiate.
Sorel, s. A buck of the third year.
Soup, s. Strong decoction of flesh for the table.
Hawker’s recipe for a mountain soup is simple and excellent—Probatum est.—Ed.