220 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE NIGHTINGALE. 



himself on the flies that come within his reach. An excellent sort 

 of food for all sorts of insectivorous birds, are the maggots from a 

 wasp's nest. 



How to render it tame. — A Nightingale (and indeed all cage birds) 

 should always be kept where they may become habituated to the 

 sight of people ; and before they undergo the autumnal molt, it 

 should be endeavoured to render them a little tame, in order that 

 they should not injure their new plumage. A Nightingale will 

 soon venture to snap a buzzing blue-bottle fly from the hand, and 

 after taking these a few times, will be emboldened to come down for 

 other food, and thus may be quickly rendered familiar ; though this 

 will of course depend much on the individual disposition of the bird. 

 Being creatures of habit, like ourselves, they loose in time all desire 

 to fly away, and often become remarkably attached to those they 

 know. They generally resume their song early in January, 

 sometimes however a month, or even two months, before, and 

 sometimes later, and are usually in full song at about three weeks 

 from the time they commence. Some sing by night, and some never 

 do, but these can hardly be said (as some have fancied) to form 

 distinct varieties, the difference probably depending merely on consti- 

 tution. 



The Nightingales song is heard to greatest perfection in confine- 

 ment. — The song of the Nightingale, besides being heard for a much 

 longer period of the year, is warbled to greater advantage in a room 

 than in the open air, none of the softer notes being lost ; and he sings 

 at all hours of the day, even when a person is close looking at him. 

 Those who would like to have them, might keep two or three at 

 Mttle or no more expence and trouble than one ; and it is as well 

 perhaps to do so, not only because in general they like to sing 

 against each other, but in the event of a single bird dying, which is 

 sometimes very annoying after having kept it pretty well through 

 the winter months ; and as they have no objection whatever to 

 companions which are not of their own species, and sing quite as 

 freely in such society as when alone ; a few of the finer insectivorous 

 songsters might be kept along with them, allowing them of course a 

 larger cage, that they might have room to exercise their wings. I 

 have generally observed that this tribe of birds thrive most in airy 

 cages, which have wire on every side ; though at first they require 

 to be more covered. 



Systematic arrangement. — The Nightingale, in scientific arrange- 

 ment, has never been placed very naturally in any system of orni- 

 thology, having always been considered as closely allied to the 



