Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 8:58 a.m. Birds are an inspiration for many musicians. Before writing “The Penguin,” Raymond Scott probably saw these birds at the Central Park Zoo. Though penguins are clumsy on land, Gentoos like the one pictured here are the fastest of any diving bird, reaching 22 miles an hour. Speaking of swimmers, Brazilian composer Joao Gilberto has swans, geese and ducks doing the samba in his song “O Pato,” or “The Duck.” And Dave Brubeck, who grew up in the west, undoubtedly heard the Western Meadowlark before writing “Strange Meadowlark.”
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