|:;r) 



UENTIROSTRES. 



of insects, small worms. ogg!< of ants, and Ijcrrics of 

 various kinds. 



Their nest is made in the lower part of a hedge or a 

 thick bnsh, where it is sheltered securely. It is formed 

 of grass, leaves, and moss, softly lined with hair and 

 down. AVhilst the female is sitting on her eggs, her 

 mate, i)erched hard by, pours foi'th his varied song, to 



• -^^ K 



Fig. 54. — nigutixgale's xest. 



while away the tedious liours and enliven her by his 

 wai'blings ; but when the brood is hatched, he ceases his 

 melody, and betakes himself to the active employment 

 of j)ro^iding for his family. Sometimes the first brood 

 is succeeded by a second, and a third, — in hot countries 

 even by a fourth. 



I'lie voice of the Nightingale excels that of any other 

 bird, and is the more delightful, because it breaks upon 

 us in the stillness of the evening when all else is silent. 

 Ancients and moderns have alike borne testimony to its 

 inimitable sweetness. "The Nightingale," says Pliny, 

 " that for fifteen days and nights, hid in tlie thickest 

 shades, continues her note without intermission, deserves 

 our attention and wonder. How surprising that so great 

 a voice can reside in so small a body ! Such persever- 

 ance in so tiny an animal ! Witli what a musical pro- 

 priety are the sounds it produces modulated ! The note 

 at one time draAvn out with a long breath, now stealing 

 off into a different cadence, now interrupted by a break ; 



