Early on in part 2 of Wide Sargasso Sea (p. 64 in the edition I have), Rochester hears a "mountain bird" whistling and asks Antoinette what kind it is. Antoinette gives no answer, and "whistling bird that lives in the mountains in the Caribbean" is not enough information to make a sure identification. On page 152, we finally learn that this bird is a solitaire (a type of thrush). This is enough for us to presume that Rochester is talking about a Rufous-throated Solitaire (Myadestes genibarbis), which is native to the Caribbean and is referred to as the Siffleur Montagne (Mountain Whistler) by the locals. For those of you who want to get a better sense of what noise Rochester is describing in these passages, I found a video on IBC with one of these birds singing:
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/rufous-throated-solitaire-myadestes-genibarbis/individual-singing-dawn-0
Brought to you by your local ornithological fanatic.
This may be the most you thing I've ever read, That call though--it would certainly up the melancholy and foreboding feeling to any scene.
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