The Nightingale. 57 



more northern counties until later, it leaves us again in August and September ; 

 it has not been known to occur in Ireland, its occurrence in Scotland is doubtful 

 and in East Devon, Shropshire and South Yorkshire it is rare ; its distribution 

 is somewhat local, but in the woods of some of the southern counties it is very 

 abundant. 



The colouring of this species above is russet-brown, the tail-coverts and 

 tail being chestnut reddi.sh. Below it is pale buff, greyish on the breast and 

 flanks and brownish on the axillaries ; under tail-coverts buff, deeper than on 

 the centre of throat and abdomen. Bill brown above, pale horn-colour below; 

 feet brown ; iris hazel. 



The female has a broader crown and bill than the male, but resembles it in 

 colouring. Nestlings are darker and have most of the feathers above spotted 

 with golden-brown ; below they are barred with gre3ash-brown. 



The Nightingale is a bird of the woods, its favourite haunts are copses, 

 plantations, shrubberies and all timbered land where trees rise amongst dense and 

 tangled undergrowth : but open forest is not suited to its somewhat timid and 

 skulking nature. As one wanders on the outskirts of some of the almost 

 impenetrable Kentish woods, it is no unusual thing to see this russet coloured 

 songster dart out from the covert, and after an irregular flight of a few yards 

 disappear again amid the thick foliage. 



In its actions the Nightingale resembles the Robin, but it has none of the 

 impudent confidence of that bird ; and, though very pugnacious, it is no match for 

 the Redbreasted bird ; of which, indeed, I proved that it stands greatly in awe : — 

 On one occasion I turned a Nightingale loose in an aviary in which a Robin was 

 flying about and, no sooner did they catch sight of one another, than Bob flew 

 straight for Philomel, who crouched on the ground in such abject terror, that I 

 quickly snatched him up to save his life. (It was a male Philomel !) In a state 

 of nature, when scared, the Nightingale always seeks concealment in some tangled 

 cover of bramble, hawthorn, scrambling honeysuckle or shady evergreen, uttering 

 the while its harsh croak of alarm, and clicking together its mandibles after the 

 fashion of other insectivorous birds. On the rare occasions when one catches a 

 glimpse of it, in some small clearing in wood or shrubbery, seeking for small 

 worms, beetles, or spiders, its behaviour is precisely that of the Robin, the manner 

 in which it jumps and jerks at the worm, and having gulped it down, stands for 

 a moment with head erect and tail slightly raised ; then bobs, flicks his wings 

 and throws up its tail, is in every respect a perfect facsimile of the Redbreast's 

 actions. Like luost of the Thrush-tribe the Nightingale turns over dead leaves 

 most industriously in the search for concealed insects. 



