84 



GENUS XXVII, 

 SYLVIA. SHAW. MOTACILLA. LIN. 



Beak slender, straight, cylindrical ; the mandibles 

 nearly equal ; nostrils slightly oval ; feet simple, with 

 three toes before and one behind. 



1. LUSCINIA. NIGHTINGALE. 



S. rufo-cinerea subtus cinereo-alba, rectricibus fusco- 

 rufis. Shaw. 



The bill is brown ; irides large and hazel ; plumage 

 above tawny olive; beneath pale ash colour; the 

 quills are brown, edged with reddish ; the legs are 

 long, of a pale brown colour. 



The nightingale is much esteemed for its song. It ap- 

 pears with us in April, and leaves in August ; it is local, 

 rarely been found in the north of England, or Cornwall. 



The nest is composed of dry grass and leaves, and 



is lined with hair and down. 



The female lays 4 or 5 greenish brown eggs. 

 For manner of feeding and keeping, see Month. 



Magazine for 1818. 



The organ of voice in birds is at the bifurcation of the 

 trachia, and not in the larynx : it appears by the observa- 



