The Nightingale 



would be impossible ; loud and clear with full- toned deep 

 liquid notes, now rising with impassioned fervour, and then, 

 suddenly stopping, he recommences after a telling pause 

 with a low plaintive cry. There is no mistaking it when 

 heard ; it is the trained voice breathing soul and fire with 

 every note, compared with which the songs of our other 

 birds, however bright and joyous, are like dismal pipings. 



Soon after his arrival comes his mate, and then the song 

 will be at its best and continue both day and night, till one 

 wonders how and when he can sleep. Nest-building is 

 begun almost immediately ; a site is chosen on the ground 

 in some thicket, and a delicate cup is formed of dead leaves 

 loosely laid together with a lining of horse hair and other 

 finer materials. The eggs are of a uniform dark olive green 

 and are generally six in number. The hen alone sits, and 

 when disturbed hops away silently from her nest, rendering 

 it very difficult to be discovered. Small woods and coppices 

 are the situations most popular with these birds, especially 

 narrow strips of woodland bordering fields, to which they 

 often make excursions in search of their food. This consists 

 entirely of insects ; spiders and flies forming the greater 

 bulk, though no insect comes amiss. These are almost 

 entirely sought for on the ground, and in fact he very 

 seldom seeks the upper branches of the trees or bushes, 

 preferring to remain hidden in their lower recesses. 



As soon as the young are hatched the song ceases, and 

 a harsh croak is the only sound emitted as he watches us 

 passing near his nest. One brood only is reared, and then 

 they seem to disappear from our "ken." Shy and silent 

 birds, always keeping to the thick cover, they spend a few 



39 



