FOR CAGES AND A VI ARIES. 139 



gradually fading to white on the lower tail coverts : the 

 legs and extremely long toes are green, the eye is orange, 

 and there is a spot of the same colour just at the knee. 



THE MOUNTAIN FINCH. See Brambling {under 

 Finches). 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 



Although not so common a bird as the Robin, the 

 Nightingale is probably quite as well known, at least by 

 repute; for a good many people have never seen the bird 

 alive and do not know it by sight, although they may live 

 within the sound of its beautiful song. It is shy, and 

 keeps to retired woods and copses as a rule ; but sometimes 

 it is known to frequent gardens, and has been seen in the 

 grounds of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, and at 

 Peckham Rye. 



It is a somewhat larger bird than the Robin, and stands 

 higher on its legs, which are long and slender and of a 

 greyish flesh-colour. The eye is very bright and full, and 

 in its deportment the bird greatly resembles the Robin, 

 hopping quickly forward, jerking up the tail, flapping the 

 wings, and generally behaving much after the same 

 manner. Bechstein, curiously enough, says it is smaller 

 than the Redbreast, but those that come to Britain, and 

 especially those that frequent the county of Kent, are 

 decidedly longer. The colour of the upper surface of the 

 body is brownish-red, deeper on the rump and the tail 

 than on the back and wings, while the under parts are 

 greyish-white. 



The female is rather lighter coloured than the male, 

 but the chief point of difference is in the shade of the 

 back and tail, which is a much deeper red in the case 

 of the latter. 



The young are very unlike their parents, being brown 

 in colour with small yellowish dots scattered all over the 



