See number 149, where the bird in the tree starves and Hopping Dick on
the ground picks up worms and wins the match. In this story, though
incomplete, it is intimated that the bird in the tree wins.
Compare Dayrell, 153–155; Harris, Nights, 370–373; Fortier, 34–37;
Parsons, Andros Island, 97—99.
In Dayrell, the birds propose to starve seven days to see which will be
king. One leaves a hole out of which he creeps unobserved to feed.
In Harris, as in this Jamaica version, the winning bird takes up his
station in the tree; the “fool bud” stays down by the creek.
In Parsons, one bird chooses a fruit tree, the other a “dry” tree. The
song sung by the winning bird runs,—
“This day Monday mornin’
Tama tama tam!”
and so on for the remaining days of the week.
In Fortier, the lady-love brings food to her favorite bird. The cooing
song in the Jamaica versions suggests this connection.