496 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



There shall we dwell in love, 

 With the lark and the dove, 

 Cuckoo and corn rail ; 

 Feast on the banded snail, 



Worm, and gilded fly; 

 Drink of the crystal rill, 

 Winding adown the hill, 



Never to dry. 



" ' With glee, with glee, with glee, 



Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up ; here 

 Nothing to harm us; then sing merrily, 

 Sing to the loved one whose nest is near. 

 Qui, qui, qui, kween, quip, 

 Tiurru, tiurru, chipiwi, 

 Too-tee, too-tee, chiu choo, 

 Chirri, chirri, chooee, 

 ( t Hiin, qui, qui.' 



" No more, pray : the thrush's song is inimitable and indescribable. It is heard at 

 all seasons in tine weather, but especially in spring and summer, particularly in the 

 early morning and about sunset. But it is not in sunshine only that this gentle 

 songster warbles its wild notes ; for often in the midst of the thick rain it takes its 

 stand in some sheltered spot, under the cover of a projecting crag or stone, and for 

 hours, perhaps, amuses itself with repeating its never-tiring modulations." 



The other species, the ring-ouzel ( T. torquatus) is more confined to mountainous 

 regions, and is one of the largest and finest thrushes, black, with a conspicuous white 

 collar. On account of its black color it is generally believed to be closely allied to 

 the European blackbird (Merula mernla). This is a great mistake, however, as it 

 does not even belong to the same genus, and its nearest relative is the spotted missel- 

 thrush (T. viscivorus). The blackbird, on the other hand, is congeneric with our 

 American robin (JI. migratorici), which it is extremely like in form and habits; but, as 

 the name indicates, it is black all over. The English robin (Erithacus rubecula)\ again, 

 is much smaller, being not larger than our bluebird, and has longer legs, but is not 

 otherwise very different from its American namesake. Through this form we are led 

 to the subjects of our next illustration, the two famous species of nightingales, the 

 western (Luscinia luscinia) to the left, and the larger and eastern species (L. philo- 

 mela) to the right, both inhabiting Europe, and nearly peculiar to that region. Re- 

 specting the former, Mr. Seebohm says: "The nightingale is a very skulking bird, 

 frequenting the dense undergrowth, hopping restlessly about the cover, and, when 

 alarmed, it instantly finds shelter amongst the tangled vegetation. The song of the 

 nightingale has possibly been over-praised. Its beauties have been the poet's theme 

 for ages ; and men have immortalized it who have probably never listened to its strains. 

 Fiction has described the bird as leaning against a thorn, and has thus explained the 

 cause of its singularly melancholy notes. The nightingale's song, nevertheless, is not 

 equalled by that of any other bird ; and the volume, quality, and variety of its notes 

 are certainly unrivalled. It is impossible in words to convey its delightful strains to 

 the reader ; the bird's haunts must be visited, and its sweetness listened to there. The 

 nightingale does not always sing in the hours of night, as is very popularly believed 

 to be the case, and it may be heard warbling at all hoirrs of the day. Neither is the 

 nightingale the onlii bird that sino-s under a starlight skv." The nightingale is dull 



*J O O 



brownish above, shading into whitish or grayish underneath, and in the exterior has 



