The
pipe he tried their notes by was a common half-crown pitch-pipe,
such as masters use for tuning of harpsichords; it was the common
London pitch.
A neighbour of mine, who is said to have a nice ear, remarks that
the owls about this village hoot in three different keys, in G flat, or
F sharp, in B flat and A flat. He heard two hooting to each other,
the one in A flat, and the other in B flat. Query: Do these different
notes proceed from different species, or only from various
individuals? The same person finds upon trial that the note of the
cuckoo (of which we have but one species) varies in different
individuals; for, about Selborne wood, he found they were mostly
in D: he heard two sing together, the one in D, the other in D sharp,
who made a disagreeable concert: he afterwards heard one in D
sharp, and about Wolmer-forest some in C. As to nightingales, he
says that their notes are so short, and their transitions so rapid, that
he cannot well ascertain their key. Perhaps in a cage, and in a
room, their notes may be more distinguishable.
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