NIGHTINGALE. 



only reversed in the order, and October answers in 

 the same manner to March. Some, however, linger 

 beyond the general time of departure ; but these 

 may be regarded as strays, probably of the latest 

 broods, which rarely, if ever, survive the winter in 

 those countries where they have been left. 



When the nightingales first arrive they do not 

 resort to the groves, copses, and thickets, at least for 

 a few days, but remain on the open ground in the vi- 

 cinity ; audit is at this time that they are most easily 

 taken by the bird-catchers. It is said, however, that 

 the female redstart is often captured and sold for the 

 male nightingale ; and thus, though the purchaser 

 gets a bird certainly, he gets one which will not dis- 

 turb him with its songs. 



The general opinion is that every nightingale 

 returns to the place where it was produced, if it sur- 

 vives the fatigues and casualties of the journey. 

 This is extremely probable, because we believe it is 

 the case with most birds ; and if the actual locality 

 has been so changed during their absence as to be- 

 come unfit for their habitation, they choose a new one 

 as close to it as possible. If the paternal domain is 

 of limited extent, and the old male and his progeny 

 return together, battles are said to ensue, in which 

 the young males are generally driven off; but if, on 

 the other hand, the accommodation has been im- 

 proved so as to afford room and food for all, the old 

 bird becomes the founder of a colony. 



The nesting, and the appearance of the young birds, 

 are so well described by Bechstein, that we shall quote 

 the passage : " The nest is in a grove or shrub- 

 bery, among thick branches in a thorn-bush, or the 

 trunk of a tree tangled with climbing 1 vegetables, and 

 even on the ground if there is sufficient cover for it 

 there. Its form is simple and inartificial, dry leaves 

 on the outside, hay on the inside, and fine roots, with 

 the hair of animals, are all the apparatus. The female 

 lays from four to six eggs, of a brownish green, on 

 which she sits a fortnight. The young are fed 

 with small caterpillars or butterflies. As the low po- 

 sition of the nest exposes them to become the prey 

 of carnivorous quadrupeds, they soon quit it, even 

 before they can fly. Their plumage before moulting 

 has no resemblance to that of the old birds, except 

 the red of the tail ; the upper part of the body is of 

 a reddish grey, spotted with yellowish white on the 

 head and coverts of the wings ; the under part is of 

 a rusty yellow, spotted on the breast with dark 

 brown ; but after moulting the resemblance is so 

 close that they can hardly be distinguished. If, 

 therefore, any of these birds are caught towards the 

 end of summer, they are carefully examined on the 

 back of the head, round the eyes, and under the beak 

 and neck, for, provided there remains in these places 

 a small feather, or mere yellow point, it is sufficient 

 to indicate that they are young. As these are the 

 only means of judging, if no marks appear it is ne- 

 cessary to wait a few days till the bird begins to sing. 

 This, however, is not a sure sign, as the young 

 females sing as well as the males till the mouth of 

 April, though in a weaker and more unconnected 

 way, and without so visibly swelling their throats ; it 

 is by these nice observations that connoisseurs suc- 

 ceed in distinguishing them. It may also be re- 

 marked, as a hint to those who wish to rear nightin- 

 gales, that, when in the nest, those which are marked 

 with white, and especially those which have a white 

 throat, are males ; the reddest and brownest being 



always females. The young, when taken, are fed 

 with ants' eggs mixed with white bread, grated and 

 moistened. The males begin to warble even before 

 their tails are quite grown ; if the father and mother 

 are taken at the same time as the young ones, they 

 will, when caged, continue to feed them as before. 

 It is said that nightingales sometimes build in the 

 bird-room ; this, however, can only succeed by giving 

 up to a tame healthy pair a whole room, in which a 

 sort of grove should be formed of branches." Cage 

 Birds, pp. 2967. 



While engaged in the work of incubation, the 

 female nightingale is represented as being a very 

 close sitter, and not leaving her eggs more than once 

 in the course of the day. Indeed, this single quir- 

 ting of the nest seems to have for its object the pre- 

 servation of the bird's health by exercise more than 

 the mere finding of food. The male is understood 

 to carry food to the female during this time ; and to 

 do it much more during the day than during that 

 part of the night which is silent, at least with many 

 of these birds. The nest is, however, generally 

 placed in a secluded situation ; and the birds, alter 

 they once betake themselves to their nesting-places, 

 are so much concealed, that very little is known re- 

 specting them. They are understood, however, to 

 be very \oracious. They are known to be so in con- 

 finement ; and consequently the finding of their own 

 food, and that of their young, not only costs them a 

 great deal of labour, but is very serviceable in de- 

 stroying insects and their larva;. They are particu- 

 larly fond of the soft larva? of the smaller ground- 

 beetles, and also of the pupae of ants, which are vul- 

 garly termed ants' egg?, and collected on the conti- 

 | nent as a sort of article of commerce in those coun- 

 tries where nightingales are eagerly sought after. 

 Nightingales may be procured at three different 

 times of the year. The first is on their arrival, and 

 before they betake themselves to the cover of the 

 woods and copses. The males come earliest, and 

 are boldest ; and they are very readily caught by 

 those who practise the art of bird-catchm?. The 

 next time of capture is from the nest, which requires 

 a good deal of practice, and succeeds best at those 

 times when the male is sing-ing; but the young birds 

 are delicate, and should not be removed too early. 

 The last time of catching is just before they depart 

 in the autumn ; and at this season birds of the year 

 are most frequently obtained. 



In Britain nightingales are not very often kept in 

 a state of confinement, because it requires a verv 

 strong passion for captive birds to overcome the 

 trouble of attending to them. In Germany, however, 

 where the attending of them is much more a sort of 

 trade, they are often kept for a great number of years ; 

 Bechstein mentions five-and-twenty in one instance. 

 In that country, or at least in some places of it, the 

 taking of nightingales is prohibited, though probably 

 more of them are taken in it than in any other coun- 

 try ; and near the shores of the Mediterranean, 

 where small birds are much in request as articles of 

 food, nightingales are not unfrequently eaten. 



In confinement nightingales sing for a much longer 

 period than they do in a state of nature, sometimes 

 continuing their notes from autumn till spring ; for it 

 very often happens that confinement changes entirely 

 the season of song in birds, and especially in mi- 

 gratory ones. 



The various methods of rearing, teaching, and 



