o 



6 OUR SUMMER MIGRANTS. 



scarcity of the species. On the arrival of the 

 hen birds the cocks soon pair, and assist in 

 building, during which time, and during the 

 time the hens are sitting, they are in full song. 

 When the young are hatched the males leave 

 off singing, and busy themselves in bringing 

 food to the nest. 



The song generally ceases before the end of 

 the first week in June. Occasionally, however, 

 I have heard a Nightingale sing on through- 

 out June, but accounted for this by supposing 

 that the nest had been robbed, and that the 

 cock was singing while the hen hatched a 

 second brood. Naturalists who live in 

 London need not travel more than five miles 

 from Charing Cross to hear the Nightingale in 

 full song. Nay, a friend who is well acquainted 

 with the note, has heard the bird frequently in 

 Victoria Park, which is only two miles distant 

 from the Bank of England, and on several oc- 

 casions attentive observers have recognized the 

 unmistakable notes of the Nightingale in the 

 Botanical Gardens, Regent's Park, and in Ken- 

 sington Gardens. 



