The Descent of Man

not for the sake of charming their mates. This
was the opinion of Daines Barrington and White
of Selborne, who both especially attended to
this subject. (29. 'Philosophical Transactions,'
1773, p. 263. White's 'Natural History of Selborne,'
1825, vol. i. p. 246.) Barrington, however,
admits that "superiority in song gives to birds
an amazing ascendancy over others, as is well
known to bird- catchers."
It is certain that there is an intense degree of
rivalry between the males in their singing. Birdfanciers
match their birds to see which will sing
longest; and I was told by Mr. Yarrell that a
first-rate bird will sometimes sing till he drops
down almost dead, or according to Bechstein
(30. 'Naturgesch. der Stubenvogel,' 1840, s.
252.), quite dead from rupturing a vessel in the
lungs. Whatever the cause may be, male birds,
as I hear from Mr. Weir, often die suddenly
during the season of song. That the habit of
singing is sometimes quite independent of love