312 



PASSERES. 



SYT,VTID,T<:, 



SYLVIfD.E. 



Daulias luscinia (Linnaeus*). 

 THE NIGHTINGALE. 



Pliilomda luscinia. 



Daulias, 7''. i?o?ef. — Bill moderate, straight; the tip slightly deflected and 

 emarginated. Nostrils basal, siipernal and round. Wings 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 fi-ont 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 



* Mofaci/la luscinia (in part), Liinuuus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 328 (17(^6). 

 t Isis, 1831, p. 542. 



