144 OUR NATIVE SONGSTERS. 



very apt to imitate any song which it may liear ; 

 so that those who keep this bird find it neces- 

 sary to place it near a good singer of its own 

 species, and by proper care and training, a night- 

 ingale may be kept in song for three months 

 together. Mr. Yarrell informs us that he was 

 told by a successful keeper of nightingales, that a 

 bird of his had sung for one hundred and fourteen 

 successive days. After one or two years of cap- 

 tivity, however, the execution begins to fail, and 

 instead of one long melody, the song is broken into 

 snatches. It is said that when this occurs, if 

 freedom is granted to the poor bird in the month 

 of May, it will regain its rich sweet song, 

 when, amid its natural haunts, it has breathed the 

 invigorating air of the woods, and felt all its 

 longings to fly and to migrate in its o^^^l power of 

 accomplishment. In ordinary circumstances, a 

 nightingale sings well for about five or six seasons, 

 after which its voice becomes broken. 



The nightingale is often so much attached to its 

 owner when kindly treated, as that it will suffer 

 none but its master or mistress to feed it ; and it 

 has been known to pine away and die, when 

 tended by others. As it is thus exclusive in its 



