Birds are in general social and benevolent creatures; intelligent, ingenious, volatile, active beings; and this order of animal creation consists of various nations, bands or tribes, as may be observed from their different structure, manners and languages, or voice, as each nation, though subdivided into many different tribes, retaining its general form or structure, a similarity of customs, and a sort of dialect or language, particular to that nation or genus from which those tribes seem to have descended or separated. What I mean by a language in birds, is the common notes or speech, that they use when employed in feeding themselves and their young, calling on one another, as well as their menaces against their enemy; for their songs seem to be musical compositions, performed only by the males, about the time of incubation, in part to divert and amuse the female, entertaining her with melody, &c. This harmony, with the tender solicitude of the male, alleviates the toils, cares and distresses of the female, consoles her in solitary retirement whilst sitting, and animates her with affection and attachment to himself in preference to any other. The volatility of their species, and operation of their passions and affections, are particularly conspicuous in the different tribes of the thrush, famous for song. On a sweet May morning we see the red thrushes (turdus rufus) perched on an elevated sprig of the snowy Hawthorn, sweet flowering Crab, or other hedge shrub, exerting their accomplishments in song, striving by varying and elevating their voices to excel each other; we observe a very agreeable variation, not only in tone but in modulation; the voice of one is shrill, of another lively and elevated, of others sonorous and quivering. The mock-bird (turdus polyglottos) who excels, distinguishes himself in a variety of action as well as air; from a turret he bounds aloft with the celerity of an arrow, as it were to recover or recal his very soul, expired in the last elevated strain. The high forests are filled with the symphony of the song or wood thrush (turdus minor.)
Both sexes of some tribes of birds sing equally finely, and it is remarkable, that these reciprocally assist in their domestic cares, as building their nests and sitting on their eggs, feeding and defending their young brood, &c. The oriolus (icterus, Cat.) is an instance in this case; and the female of the icterus minor is a bird of more splendid and gay dress than the male bird. Some tribes of birds will relieve and rear up the young and helpless, of their own and other tribes, when abandoned. Animal substance seems to be the first food of all birds, even the granivorous tribes.