ON THE HABITS OF THE BRAKE NIGHTINGALE. 399 



which, however, it is superior in softness and pureness. The 

 Common Nightingale is superior in delicacy and variety, but in- 

 ferior in force and brilliancy. The Greater Nightingale sings 

 generally in the night so that it is the real night-singer ; while 

 among (brake) Nightingales this is rather uncommon. Its voice 

 is so loud that it is almost impossible to bear it in a room. It is 

 necessary to keep it always outside the window, either by hang- 

 ing its cage there, or, by opening it a sort of passage into which 

 it can remove." (Bechst. Cage Birds, p. 310.) Such is the ac- 

 count of an eminent Ornithologist, who during a great number 

 of years kept all kinds of cage birds with great success, and 

 from his knowledge in this line, wrote a most useful and inter- 

 esting volume, which has gone through many editions, and from 

 which the above quotation is taken. 



It is possible that two varieties of Nightingales may exist in 

 Britain, but I think it extremely improbable that two species 

 should have been so long overlooked, when we consider the great 

 attention that has always been paid to these birds in consequence 

 of their superior vocal powers. As to the Greater Nightingale 

 being the only night-singer, that is quite erroneous ; as the same 

 birds are commonly known to sing both by day and by night, a 

 fact which was remarked even in the days of Pliny. A few 

 words more and I will conclude. 



Much as I admire the song of the Brake Nightingale, I cer- 

 tainly cannot agree with Mudie in the latter part of the following 

 passage, taken from his delightful work the "Feathered Tribes of 

 the British Islands" reviewed in the first volume of The Analyst : 

 — **To hear it in the morning, especially for the first time, and 

 to be awakened by it upon one of those balmy mornings in 

 May, when every leaf is freshness, and every breath young 

 perfume, is indescribable — worth more than a whole musical 

 festival ; but yet it owes much to the time, and the absence of 

 other sounds."* This clearly proves, not that the song of the 

 Nightingale is "worth more than a whole musical festival," but 

 that the organ of melody is very deficient in Mudie. A person 

 with a very moderate share of harmony but large ideality — which I 

 take to be Mudie's case — may admire the song of the Nightingale, 

 or of any other bird, but will not be able to appreciate more 

 definite and scientific strains. 



Luscinia seu Philomela, Will. Orn. (Angl.) — Briss. Orn. — 

 Motacilla luscinia, Gm. Linn. — Faun. Suec. — Sylvia luscinia, Lath. 

 Ind, Orn. — Id. Gen. Hist. — Temm. Man. — Steph. Gen. Zool. — 

 Scop. Ann. — Curruca luscinia, Flem. Br. Anim. — Philomela lus- 

 cinia, Swains. — Nachtigall, Mey. Tasch. Deut. — Frisch, Vog. — 

 Rossignol, Buff. Ois. — Becjin Rossignol, Temm. Man. — Nightingale, 

 Will. Orn. (Angl.) — Penn. Br. Zool. — Lath.Syn. — Id. Gen. Hist. — • 

 Lew. Birds of Brit. — Wale. Syn. — Mont. Orn. Diet. — Id. ed. 

 Rennie — Beiv. Br. Birds — Don. Br. Birds — Flem. Br. Anim. — 



* Vol. I. p. 315. 



