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188
The Speech of Monkeys
·
R. L. Garner
150
The
parrot
is
perhaps
possessed
of
the
greatest
vocal
power
of
any
other
bird.
He
imitates
almost
the
entire
range
of
sounds
that
are
uttered
by
all
other
birds
combined,
and
can
also
imitate
the
sounds
of
human
speech
from
the
highest
to
the
lowest
pitch
of
the
human
voice.
In
addition
to
all
this,
he
imitates
many
noises,
such
as
the
sounds
of
sawing
wood,
the
slam
of
a
door,
and
the
whistling
of
the
wind.
The
vocal
range
of
the
parrot
is
perhaps
the
most
marvellous
of
all
the
vocal
products
of
the
animal
kingdom.
One
strange
thing,
however,
that
I
observe
among
them
is,
that
the
range
of
sounds
that
they
use
among
themselves
is
very
small.
I
have
made
some
records
of
parrots,
macaws,
cockatoos,
&c.,
and
I
find
their
natural
vocal
sounds
usually
wanting
in
quality:
most
of
their
sounds
are
hoarse
and
guttural.
Among
the
gallinaceous
birds
there
does
not
appear
to
be
much
music.
There
is
a
great
sameness
of
sounds
in
the
different
species,
and
they
seem
to
be
confined
to
the
economic
use
of
speech.
In
my
early
life
I
devoted
much
time
to
gunning,
and
I
observed
then,
and
called
attention
to
the
fact,
that
when
a
covey
of
birds
became
scattered
I
could
tell
at
what
point
they
would
huddle.
I
could
tell
this
by
the
call
of
one
bird
and
the
reply
of
the
others.
The
call-bird,
which
was
always
the
leader
of
the
covey,
would
sound
his
call
from
a
certain
point
near
which
the
other
birds
would
usually
assemble,
and
during
this
time
they
would
answer
him
from
various
other
points.
The
sound
used
by
the
call-bird
is
unlike
that
used
by
the
rest
of
the
flock,
but
the
sounds
with
which
they
reply
to
him
are
all
alike,
and
by
observing
this
I
could
always
find
the
covey
again
by
allowing
them
time
to
come
together,
especially
if
it
was
late
in
the
afternoon.
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