THE NIGHTINGALE. 



515 



Warblers prefer a partially enclosed country, sloping hill-sides, or 

 the banks of rivers clothed with trees and shrubs, for their haunts. 



In the first rank of the Warblers stands the Nightingale (Philomela 

 luscinia, Fig. 226), celebrated all over the world for its song, which is 

 superior, without any doubt, to that of all other birds. In size it is 

 somewhat greater than the Garden Warbler, which it resembles in its 

 sober attire. Many have been the attempts made to describe this far- 



Fig. 226. The Nightingale. 



famed bird. Naturally shy, the Nightingale retires into the closest and 

 most sheltered places, rarely exposing itself to observation. Brush- 

 wood and thickets, wych-elms and evergreen trees, growing on the 

 banks of some retired watercourse, are its favourite dwelling. It is 

 among these that it establishes its nest, built without care, at irregular 

 heights, and sometimes even on the ground. The Nightingale pos- 

 sesses this peculiarity that it sings not only during the day, but also 

 in the night ; but let any alarming noise approach its retreat, and it 

 stops instantly. It seems to love solitude above all things. Audubon, 

 the American naturalist, has described some of the distinctive charac- 



