The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals: A Book of Personal Observations

The lion roars, magnificently. The hyena "laughs"; the gray wolf gives a mournful howl, the coyote barks and howls, and the fox yaps. The elk bugles, the moose roars and bawls, in desire or defiance. The elephant trumpets or screams in the joy of good feeding, or in fear or rage; and it also rumbles deeply away down in its throat. The red squirrel barks and chatters, usually to scold some one whom he hates, but other small rodents know that silence is golden. The birds have the best voices of all creatures. They are the sweet singers of the animal world, and to the inquiring mind that field is a wonderland. The frogs are vociferous; and now if they were more silent they would last longer. Of all the reptiles known to me, only two utter vocal sounds,--the alligator and the elephant tortoise. The former roars or bellows, the latter grunts.