THE NIGHTINGALE 65 



river-sides, osier-beds, etc. The average length is 4^ in. The 

 eggs number four or five, yellowish-brown, with darker brown spots. 

 The food consists of insects. It arrives in this ccuntry in April 

 and leaves it in September. 



The NIGHTINGALE (Daulias cr Luscinia philomeld), a celebrated 

 song-bird, included in the Luscininae or Sylvinae (true warblers), 

 is of a rusty brown colour on the upper parts tinged with olive, paler 

 ash colour on the under-parts, blending into white at the throat 

 and belly. Its length is about 6 in. It frequents trees and 

 bushes of small size and subsists chiefly upon insects. The nest is 

 of rough construction, generally formed of leaves and grasses, and 

 mostly made in the neighbourhood of water. The eggs number 

 from four to five, and are of an olive-green colour. The nightingale 

 arrives in this country about the beginning cr middle of April, the 

 males before the females ; the song continues until the middle of 

 June, when the young are hatched. The male sings while the female 

 is incubating during the day and at night also ; the flood of song 

 poured forth in the stillness of the evening forms the bird's chief 

 reputation. In its distribution the nightingale is restricted to the 

 south-western parts of England, being seldom heard in the western 

 districts or in Wales, not at all in Ireland, and in Scotland almost 

 unknown, its northern limits being at or near York. In places 

 where its song is rarely heard, the interest of the local dwellers is so 

 pronounced that much damage is done to meadow grass and other 

 crops by bird-song lovers. The nightingale leaves Britain in Sep- 

 tember, and appears solitary in habits. 



The CHIFF CHAFF (Phylloscopus rufus or Sylvia mfa) belongs 

 to the Sylvinae or True Warblers, sometimes also called Luscininae. 

 It is a small species, attaining a length of 4 or 5 in. Its colour 

 is brown on the upper parts and white on the under. It arrives in 

 England in March and departs in October. It inhabits woods and 

 thickets. The nest is placed near the ground in a bush or resting on 

 a hedgebank, and is rounded or oval and entered by a hole at the 

 side. The eggs are six in number, speckled with purplish-red on a 

 white ground. It destroys large numbers of insect larvae, feeding 

 largely on the leaf-rolling caterpillars, especially those of the cak- 

 green moth. 



The WILLOW WARBLER or WILLOW WREN (Phylloscopus or Sylvia 

 trochilus), Fig. 44, is olive-green above, threat and chest white, 

 with a yellowish tinge, while the belly is pure white. Its average 

 length is 5 in. It is the first of Sylvinae or True Warblers to 

 arrive in Britain during March. It frequents woods and thickets, 

 pleasure grounds and gardens, and is active and busy from "morn 

 till eve " in searching for and devouring insects ; meanwhile enlivening 

 the groves with song. 



The nest of the willow warbler is made in a low bush, oval or 

 roundish in its form, and is entered by a little hole at the side. The 



Il.N. F 



