4 88 



PERCHING BIRDS. 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 



and dry leaves, generally raised a little from the ground by a deposit of dead twigs, 

 and screened from observation by a profusion of wild brambles or a crop of stinging 

 nettles ; the eggs being uniform olive-brown or coffee-coloured. The female, though 

 shy, is much devoted to her charge, and 

 will allow a stranger to stand close 

 beside her without exhibiting her agita- 

 tion further than by a slight nervous 

 movement of the head which only 

 enables him to obtain a better view of 

 the little russet bird, her dark eye 

 beaming out of its whitish orbit. The 

 nightingale is easily trapped, and was 

 formerly an object of eager pursuit 

 among bird-catchers, who used to imitate 

 the cry of the bird in order to lead it up 

 to the trap which they had prepared for 

 it, bated with a live insect. One bird- 

 catcher informed us that he once caught 

 two male nightingales in this manner in 

 less than ten minutes ; this occurred, of 



course, in a locality where nightingales were plentiful, and upon the first arrival 

 of the males. When the nightingale has hatched her young both parents become 

 absorbed in catering for their progeny. The song is chiefly heard during the 

 night, simply because other birds are then comparatively silent, but the nightingale 

 sings with great power even during the middle of the day. The male has the 

 upper-parts russet-brown shading into chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and tail ; 

 the lower-parts being buffish white shading into greyish white on the breast and 

 flanks. 



Eastern In the east of Europe the English nightingale is replaced by a 



Nightingale, somewhat larger bird (E. philomela), which has a distinct song, 

 differing from that of its congener in its greater volume and inferior perfection. 

 It breeds generally in thickets in the neighbourhood of water, and builds a similar 

 nest to that of the well-known bird. The plumage of the eastern nightingale 

 differs from that of the common species in being of a more olive-brown, especially 

 on the upper tail-coverts, in having a more pointed wing, a smaller bastard-primary, 

 and in being slightly spotted or streaked on the breast with grey. A third species 

 is the Persian nightingale (E. golzi). 



New Zealand Here may be noticed two Australasian genera of birds, placed by 



Robins. some among the flycatchers, but regarded by Dr. Sharpe as allied to 

 the stonechat and whinchat. It should be observed, however, that the same 

 ornithologist separates (as Pratincola) the last-named birds from Saxicola to place 

 them among the flycatchers. The New Zealand robins (Miro) are characterised by 

 having a slender bill, straight, and furnished with rictal bristles ; the wings being 

 moderate and extending to half the length of the tail, and rounded ; while the tail is 

 broad and even, the feathers being sharply cut off at their tips. The metatarsus 

 is very long and slender. This genus belongs to the avifauna of New Zealand and 



