The cow's, the pig's, and the frog's voices were also rather similar in the three languages: the cow's in Spanish being "_Meu, meu, muuu_," in German "_Mŭh, mŭh_," and in English "Moo"; the pig's "_Grup-grup, wink_," "_Óŭik, Óŭik_," and "Grunt, oink"; and the frog's "_Cruac, croac, croac_" "_Quak, quak_," and "Croak." The barnyard rooster has a difficult voice to transcribe in letters. In Spanish it was "_Quiquiriguiiii_," in German "_Kickeriki_," and in English "Cock-a-doodle-do." After listening to the various renditions by the various nations I could see how each rendition came into being, but as for deciding which was closest to the original I hesitated to choose. When it came to the dog, the discrepancy was surprising: in Spanish it was "_Guán, guán, guán_," in German "_Waŭ, waŭ_," and in English "Bowwow." The German and the English are close enough. But though I went outside and listened to the dogs in Salvador, never did they seem to say, "_Guán, guán, guán_," though I must admit that neither did they seem to say, "Bowwow." SIGHT IDENTIFICATION [Illustration] Sometimes when I'm trying to decide whether the birds of the Cameroon Mountains of West Africa are the result of one invasion and variation _in situ_, or of two invasions, or whether the Himalayan red-billed choughs of Ladak are different from those of Nepal, or how the molt of the cassowary resembles that of penguins, I am called to the telephone to identify a bird someone has seen. The chances are it's a starling. I've not kept a record, but I fancy half the questions are on identification of starlings. In the distance starlings are black, and people know them. But close up, where details can be seen, they puzzle people with their variety. The young may be dull brownish; the adults may be speckled in the winter; in the spring the speckled tips of the feathers wear off and they're all black. But the black is iridescent, and in sunshine glitters purple or greenish. And the bill color changes too: it becomes yellow in the spring. Sometimes it's surprising how you can spot a bird from a brief description. Take this one: a bird that sits with its stomach on the ground, and has a big mouth, and long whiskers; a whippoorwill obviously. Or take this one: a bill like a chicken and with flat feet at the back; obviously a pied-billed grebe. There was one that absolutely stumped me for a day. The lady said it had a bill like an eagle, and a tail that stuck up. For the rest she was vague. Often habits, actions, or habitat are a help to me in placing a bird, but I could get nothing to help--not even where she had seen it. I admitted I couldn't help her. The next day someone brought in a picture puzzle out of a newspaper, and there, right in the center, was my bird. It was a dodo! We don't mind helping people learn things, indeed we consider it part of our job, but to help them work puzzles is too much!