The pigeon is a well-known instance of this; its cooing can be distinctly heard, although it does not open its bill; the call is formed internally in the throat and chest, and is only rendered audible by resonance. Similar ways may be observed in many birds and other animals. The clear, loud call of the cuckoo is, according to Nicolardot, only the resonance of a note formed in the bird.
The whirring of the snipe, which betrays the approach of the bird to the hunter, is an act of ventriloquism. The frog also is said not to open his mouth in croaking, but to create his far-reaching sounds by the rolling of air in his intestines. Even the nightingale has certain notes which are produced internally, and which are audible while the bill is closed. So even the art of ventriloquism if we may call it an art , which is nowadays but little practiced, but which in former times was highly esteemed, has been taught to man by the animals.
Human society seems attractive to birds, as Nicolardot proves by numerous instances; especially have song-birds a great fondness for human dwellings, and rarely do they go far away from them. It almost seems as if they were vain of the admiration bestowed on their song. They lay and hatch better in parks than in woods. Nicolardot says that the cuckoo, the crow, the quail, and the lark, never live in districts entirely untenanted by man. There are quite a number of city and village birds which always settle in the immediate neighborhood of human dwellings.
Among these are the starling, the nightingale, the finch, and the sparrow, but above all the stork. All of these birds are said to imitate, by their calls or their song, the human voice, or else noises which are to be heard about dwellings. For instance, it is said that the stork in Africa—though this we would not like to vouch for—is dumb, and that his clappering here is but an imitation of the sharpening of scythes.
This sound is supposed to be specially pleasing to the stork, because on freshly cut meadows he always finds food in plenty, and therefore it is presumed that he imitates this noise as suggestive of a rich dinner.
All of these birds show great fondness for, and are said to be capable of imitating, the human voice, if one were only to take sufficient pains in training them. And, more than this, they can repeat entire words like the parrot. That starlings and ravens can talk is a well-known fact, but instances are known where other kinds of birds have learned to speak. Russ, for instance, in his book on ornithology, tells about a canary, owned by an actress, which was capable of speaking some words distinctly.
Other birds have a special liking for certain sounds—owls, for instance, like the tolling of bells. Nicolardot says that a special variety of owl, the "tower-owl," which preferably nests in bell-towers of churches, closely imitates in its cry the sound given out by bells.
He also states that it is a comparatively easy matter, calling only for a little trouble and patience, to teach the green-finch and the yellow thrash to talk. Song-birds especially are said to be capable of a musical education much more extensive than they commonly receive nowadays. They are said not only to be able to repeat short melodies whistled to them, but also to sing to the accompaniment of instruments.
Maximus, of Tyre, relates, in his "Philosophical Conversations" translated by Torme , that a certain man, who devoted much of his time and attention to animals, had kept a number of birds of different kinds in his room. Every morning during the beginning of their captivity they sang and chirped—each in its own way—giving rise to much noise and great confusion. In a comparatively short time, however, this man had succeeded in training his birds so that they joined him in making music.
He played the flute, and the birds accompanied his playing with their voices, at certain passages all singing correctly in chorus. The responsibility for the truth of this story we must leave to the narrator; however, it is a fact that, in the musical training of birds, wonderful things may be done.
During the time of Napoleon III, there was at Paris a so-called charmeur who came every noon into the garden of the Tuileries and fed the birds of all kinds. The animals knew him by sight, and came to him at once. He could call them individually, and they would perch on his fingers, and, if he whistled certain signal-notes for them, they would repeat these clearly and distinctly.
In these days we are ever seeking and searching; we penetrate deeply into all domains of Nature, and believe ourselves to be approaching to a more true conception of the world about us. But rarely has it been seriously attempted to study the voices of Nature, which form so important a chord in the great concert of creation. Undoubtedly there is here yet much that lies unrevealed, and that is well worth attentive study and investigation.
Perchance this might lead to important conclusions concerning the great secret of life in its organic function, which nowhere draws a sharp line between the animal and the vegetable kingdom, and which joins the latter by insensible gradations to the mineral world. The first attempt in this direction has been made by Nicolardot with his work, and this well merits our interest and appreciation.
Retrieved from " https: Subpages Pages with contributor. Views Read Edit View history. Mysterious Animal of Congo-Zaire. University of Texas Press. So Many Ways to Communicate - A new way to explore the animal kingdom. Behavior of Exotic Pets. Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
This page was last edited on 17 December , at There is hardly a bird, provided it has any voice at all, that can not imitate, at least to a certain extent, the sounds of Nature. TV remote Rated 3 out of 5 stars. Retrieved September 16, From there these birds, to which the ancients ascribed great sagacity, came flying down close to the heads of the soldiers, flapped their wings, and kept up a continuous, monotonous croaking. University of Cambridge Press By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
A Guide to Viewing Distinctive Varieties. Snake in the Grass: Retrieved from " https: Animal sounds Linguistics lists Zoosemiotics. Pages containing links to subscription-only content Commons category link is on Wikidata Commons category link is on Wikidata using P Views Read Edit View history. In other projects Wikimedia Commons. This page was last edited on 17 December , at By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. For a list of words relating to animal sounds, see the en: Animal sounds category of words in Wiktionary , the free dictionary. A bit tricky to navigate at first.
Lots just need to play and experiment to get acclimated to see what all is available. Loving this app so far! This app is only available on the App Store for iOS devices. Description Teach your children about animal sounds! Aug 25, Version 1.
Compatibility Requires iOS 8. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. App Support Privacy Policy.