NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



or on the stump of a felled tree ; in 

 woods, plantations, copses, quiet gardens, 

 and on commons where clumps of hazels, 

 brambles, and briars grow. 



The eggs number from four to six, of 

 a uniform olive-brown or olive-green 

 colour. Occasionally greenish-blue speci- 

 mens are found. 



It would be difficult to overpraise the 

 almost perfect song of this bird, the king 

 of all British feathered melodists ; for 

 although I greatly admire the vocal 

 powers of the Song Thrush, Skylark, and 

 Blackcap, I do not think that any one 

 of them can come near the Nightingale 

 for perfection of phrasing, rich mellow- 

 ness, or the loud, clear, silvery sound of 

 its notes. I agree with Mr. Witchell, 

 who has studied the songs of birds more 

 closely, perhaps, than any other living 

 man, when he says : 



"This tempestuous song, this wild 

 melody, the triumphal song of Nature 

 herself, pierces beyond the ear right to 

 the heart of the listener." 



The Nightingale is the only bird I 

 ever remember to have heard singing in 

 a fog, and this occurred in Surrey a little 

 before midnight during the third week 

 in May. 



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