48 OUR RARER BIRDS 



with bluebells and anemones, that the wild rich song of the 

 Nightingale seems most eloquent of life and joy. During all 

 the hours of daylight he sits in some secluded corner of the 

 cool green woods, and sings his rich and plaintive music at 

 intervals ; and in the hours of darkness, when the fields and 

 groves are fast asleep, we catch his melancholy melody as it 

 is borne hither and thither on the night air. Where the 

 birds are at all numerous nothing can equal the beauty of 

 this woodland concert. First one bird and then another 

 bursts forth into rapturous voice, here and there and every- 

 where from the dark woods and thickets. What pen can do 

 justice to the song of the Nightingale ? Half an hour's stroll 

 into the woods after sundown will introduce his melody to 

 your notice in all its beauty, and accomplish in a moment 

 what pages of description would fail to do. Perhaps the song 

 of this bird has been praised too highly. Its romantic habit 

 of warbling at night when the woods are still and rivals 

 scarce has no doubt gained for its song a large amount of 

 eulogy from poets and dreamers and novelists ; nevertheless 

 we have no other singing-bird in this country whose voice 

 possesses the same rich quality of tone, variety, and compass. 

 It should here be remarked that the Nightingale is by no 

 means the only songster that warbles at night. The Sedge 

 Warbler, the Grasshoper Warbler, and the Thrush repeatedly 

 do so ; and during the exceptionally short nights near the 

 summer solstice I have frequently heard many other species 

 indulging in this habit. The Nightingale begins to sing soon 

 after his arrival in this country, and continues to do so right 

 through the months of April and May. In June the song is 

 heard less frequently, and is finally hushed in the autumnal 

 moult. 



In many of its habits the Nightingale very closely re- 

 sembles the Eobin. Like that bird it obtains most of its food 

 on the ground, hopping about with head and tail erect, its 



