Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXI, No. 1, July 1842Various
General
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXI, No. 1, July 1842
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
I have thus given partial descriptions of four of the principal tribes
of Tropical Birds. I hope the reader has not been so wearied that he
will not kindly suffer me to draw this article to a close by a brief
notice of those two birds most remarkable for their peculiar notes. The
one pours forth a stream of rich melody, which surpasses the far-famed
song of the nightingale, and is, likewise, celebrated for its peculiar
power of imitating the tones of almost every fellow-songster. The other
utters only one sound, but so strange and solemn as to inspire the mind
of the hearer with a religious awe. The natural music of the one is as
gay, cheerful and enlivening as that of the other is mournful and
soul-subduing.
The first to which I allude is the Matthews of the woods, THE
MOCKING-BIRD. This species abound in all parts of the Western Indies;
they are found in great numbers near the sea-shore. From the trees which
grow on the beaches float their rich songs, more melodious than strains
of flute, or bugle, or any “cunningly devised instrument;” and, in
mellowness, in modulation and gradation, in extent of compass and
rapidity and brilliancy of execution, outrivalling the most magnificent
bravuras of a Sontag or a Malibran. When confined in cages and brought
to our cold climate, for the amusement of man, the bird loses, in the
loneliness of its captivity, half the richness of its voice. Though it
delights to mimic other plumed minstrels, this astonishing faculty is
feeble, in its most miraculous exhibition, when compared with its own
delicious song; but he who would listen to it in its perfection, must go
to those regions where the great magnolia shoots up its majestic trunk,
covered with evergreen leaves, and decorated with a thousand flowers,
where the forests and fields are buried in blossoms of every hue, and
where the golden orange decorates the gardens and the groves.
The bird whose note is so melancholy is called by the Indians campanero;
by the Spaniards arapongo or guirapongo, and by the English the
bell-bird. It is extremely rare. I was so fortunate as to see a single
specimen. It is of about the size of a Barbary dove, but more gracefully
shaped, with a larger head. It is of a snowy whiteness. From the
forehead there rises a spiral tube of about a bodkin’s length. This
tube, it is said, is raised and depressed at pleasure; it is black,
dotted with white feathers, and, as it is hollow, and communicates with
the palate, it is probably elevated when filled with air, and becomes
pendulous when empty. That strange sound, for which it is remarkable, is
probably produced by the raising and depressing of this tube. It
resembles the tolling of a bell, and is very loud and distinct. It is
heard morning and evening in the woods, and one might fancy its toll to
proceed from some hidden convent, calling to matins and vespers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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