The Nightingale. 161 



its food in the open ; also perhaps because the 

 best places for the nest are often in the depth 

 of an overgrown hedge, where the cover is thicker 

 than inside a wood. Sitting on the sunny side 

 of such a wood, I have often had ample oppor- 

 tunity of hearing and watching a pair : for though 

 always somewhat shy, they are not frightened at 

 a motionless figure, and will generally show them- 

 selves if you wait for them, on some prominent 

 bough or bit of railing, or as they descend on 

 the meadow in quest of food. 



I am always surprised that writers on birds 

 have so little to say of the beauty of the Nightin- 

 gale's form and colouring. It is of the ideal 

 size for a bird, neither too small to be noticed 

 readily, nor so large as the somewhat awkwardly 

 built Blackbird or Starling. All its parts are in 

 exquisite proportion ; its length of leg gives it 

 a peculiarly sprightly mien, and tail and neck 

 are formed to a perfect balance. Its plumage, 

 as seen, not in an ornithologist's cabinet, but in 

 the living and moving bird a little distance from 

 you, is of three hues, all sober, but all possessing 

 that reality of colour which is so satisfying to the 



M 



