Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1893 — Animals with Human Voices. [ARTICLE]

Animals with Human Voices.

A species of crow in India has note which exactly resembles the human voice in loud laughing. The laughing jackass, when warning his feathered mates that jiaybreak is at hand, utters a cry resembling a group of boys shouting, whooping and laughing in a wild chorus. The nightjar has a cry like one lamenting in distress. Among birds that have the power of imitation the parrot is the best; but, as a matter of fact, its voice is decidedly inferior to that of the mynah, a species of starling. Curiously enough, the male bird speaks in a high, clear tone, like that of a child, while the female has a gruff voice. Another bird, the morepork of Australia, is frequently heard vehemently demanding “more pork,” in a clear, stentorian voice. The whip-poor-will also demands his punishment in a distinct imitation of the human voice, and the command of the guinea fowl to “come back” could easily be mistaken for a human voice. Coming to quadrupeds, the cries of none approach more closely that of the human voice than those of seals when lamenting the loss or capture of their young. The cry of a wounded hare resembles that of a child in distress.