72 Transactions of the 



a variety of the feathered tribe. This is easily accoimted for when 

 we consider the varied scenery of the district, suited almost to 

 every species of bird. 



I will first proceed to speak of a few of our summer visitants, 

 commencing with the nightingale. It is about the end of April 

 when we first hear the sweet notes of this bird. This year I first 

 'heard it on the 29th of April, but the time depends to a great 

 extent on the clemency of the weather. The nightingale does not 

 sing in the evening alone, as is very generally supposed, for in the 

 brightest hours of the morning you can often hear its melodious 

 song. About Clifton it is not very frequently met with, and, I 

 believe, it used to be more plentiful than at present. Neverthe- 

 less, I have often heard it in the Leigh woods. 



The nest is generally placed on the ground, in some natural 

 hollow, and it is composed of dry leaves, fibrous roots, and other 

 similar materials. The eggs are of a regular oval form, uniformly 

 dull olive-brown in colour. 



As regards the song of the nightingale, it has been very gener- 

 ally described (by poets almost always) as a melancholy one, even 

 from the time of Homer downwards. Tor myself, I think the 

 song has the greatest variety and compass of any of the minstrels 

 of the wood ; but at the same time, when listening to it, you 

 sometimes cannot help admitting with the poet that — 



' Ne'er on earth was sound of mirth 

 So like to melancholy.' 



The blackcap, garden-warbler, whitethroat, and willow-warbler, 

 are all found Jtiore or less frequently about this locality, and are 

 amongst the most elegant and pleasing of our British birds. The 

 song of the first named is second only to that of the nightingale 

 in quality, and is even preferred by some people. The blackcap 

 arrives in England a little before the nightingale. The garden 

 warbler is more rare, and seldom seen in Clifton or its neighbour- 

 hood. The whitethroat is a very elegantly shaped little bird, 

 commonly seen in hedgerows and thickets. It has a pleasing 

 song, and sometimes it may be seen singing in the air while 

 hovering over some object in a curious flickering manner, occa- 

 sionally poising itself over a bush from which it has arisen. I 

 first saw the whitethroat this year on the 23d of April. The willow- 

 warbler is much more commonly met with, and is, indeed, one of 

 the most numerous of our summer migrants. It is common here 

 in the Leigh woods, generally selecting thickly-wooded uncultivated 

 districts. This bird is very abundant in Kent. 



I will now leave the warblers, and pass on to speak of some 

 others of our migratory birds. 



