THE NIGHTINGALE. 139 



May and June ; but after this time the voice of 

 the nightingale seems gone, and when his mate no 

 longer needs its cheering influences a strange croak- 

 ing noise succeeds, as if our bird were hoarse from 

 the effects of cold; varied occasionally by a snapping 

 noise made with the beak, which would seem to be 

 a tone of anger or defiance. Now and then during 

 August, the young male birds which were hatched 

 in the preceding spring, seem warbling as if prac- 

 tising their songs against another summer. 



The nightingale, frequent as it is in many 

 counties, is very local in its distribution. It is 

 abundant in the southern part of England, and is 

 well known in Kent, SuiTcy, Sussex, Hampshire, 

 Berkshire, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Cambridge- 

 shire, and Essex. It is rarely found in the middle 

 and northern counties, except in one or two spots 

 in Yorkshire, where it is described as somewhat 

 more frequent, and in Cheshire, Staffordshire, 

 Derbyshire, and Lancashire, as well as in Cornwall 

 and Devonshire, it seems unknown. There are no 

 nightingales in Ireland, and if any are ever seen 

 in Wales, they are but occasional visitors to the 

 southern counties. ]\Iany attempts have been 

 made to introduce the bird in various spots, and 



