Warblers. 7 1 



some birds will not sing except in full sunshine ; others 

 only in the dark : generally it is found a Nightingale 

 will sing best when alone, but sometimes one bird tries 

 to rival the others, and keeps its supremacy, reducing 

 his companions to silence. They are whimsical about 

 their cage, as well as the position in which it is placed, 

 and will resent any change in it. Most birds dislike 

 a strong light, and yet require plenty of air, so that the 

 best kind of cage would appear to be one with wooden 

 or wire bars on the front and sides, the top being, as 

 before mentioned, of green baize or cloth, and with 

 green gauze curtains hung round the .sides, if required, 

 for shade. For the first year or two of confinement 

 the Nightingales suffer from the yearning for migration, 

 for two or three weeks : they are very restless, suddenly 

 starting up and fluttering their wings, and trying to 

 fly upwards; and they would injure themselves then, 

 if they had not a soft roof to their cage. This, how- 

 ever, is said to subside in time, and that they will be- 

 come very tame and apparently quite happy ; but if 

 set at liberty when their song is becoming weak, they 

 soon recover its strength. 



The female Nightingale is not so tall as the male ; 

 she has a rounder head and shorter neck, and her eyes 

 are smaller and less bright, and her throat less white. 

 The young males have yellowish feathers in the wings 

 and tail, and may be distinguished thus. 



The BLACKCAP (Sylvia atricapilla} has a song second 



