312 



PASSE RES. 



sylviid.t;. 



SYLVJID.E. 



Daulias luscinia (Linnaeus*). 

 THE NIGHTINGALE. 



Ph ilom ela I use inia. 



Daulias, F. Ihlef. — Bill moderate, straight; the ti^j slightly deflected and 

 emarginated. Nostrils basal, supernal and round. Vf ings moderate ; the first quill 

 very short, the second longer than the fifth, the third the longest in the wing. 

 Tail rounded. Legs long and slender ; the tarsi covered in front by a single scale ; 

 the toes long ; claws rather short. 



The Nightingale is admitted beyond dispute to possess 

 in a higher degree than any other British Bird each of the 

 three requisites necessary to form by their combination a 

 first-rate song. The volume, quality, and execution of its 

 voice are unrivalled in this country ; and when the diminutive 

 size of the musician is considered, its powers are certainly 

 very extraordinary. The song of the Nightingale has accord- 

 ingly been the theme of writers of all ages, and few have 



* Motarilla hischiia (in part), Liinijeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. \i. -SiS (1766). 

 t Isis, 1831, p. .'542. 



