VOL. vi.] SOME NOTES ON NIGHTINGALES. 173 



The supply was of course inexhaustible at close range 

 so that foraging at any distance was unnecessary. The 

 birds approached the nest by flying in short stages 

 from twig to twig of the birches at a height of two or 

 three feet from the ground and always arrived eventually 

 at the same perch four or five feet on the far side of the 

 nest, thence dropping to the ground he or she would 

 creep through the tangled twigs, grass, brambles, etc.. 



CREEPING THROUGH THE TANGLE. 



[Photographed by N". F. Ticehurst.) 



to the side of the nest. During the pauses in the flight, 

 when perched on the birch twigs, the bird's tail is in 

 constant motion with a characteristic upward flick and 

 a slower subsidence to the horizontal ; at the height of 

 the flick the tail stands at less than a right angle with 

 the body-line, and this constant motion adds not a little 

 to the sprightly charm and grace of this delightful bird. 

 The upper figure in Plate 5 is an attempt at the 



