44 NATURAL H1STOKY. 



pairing season, when, frequent disputes occur amongst the males. It usually frequents the lower 

 branches of the trees, or the bushes, where it does not move about much, but sits with the wings 

 rather drooped ; and when it moves it usually flirts its tail, which when the bird is sitting is held in 

 an almost horizontal position. When on the ground it carries the body erect, and looks very long- 

 legged. It progresses by means of long jumps, and after taking ten or a dozen it usually stands still, 

 pauses for a moment, as if thinking of what is next to be done, and then, with a flirt of the tail, hops 

 on again. Its food, which is chiefly picked up from the ground, consists of worms, insects, and especially 

 of insect larvse ; and it frequently searches for insects in old rotten timber and moss. It is also said 

 to be very fond not only of the larvae of ants (or so-called ants' eggs) but also of the ants themselves. 

 Naumann says that it is partial to currants, both red and black, when ripe, and is very fond of elder- 

 berries. Insects, however, are its staple food, and its pai-tiality for a meal-worm renders it an easy 

 victim to the bird-catchers. Large numbers are trapped every season, but few survive ; for it is 

 certainly one of the most difficult species to keep in confinement. Most of the birds are caught soon 

 after they arrive, and but comparatively few of these are females. According to Harting, in the year 

 1867 three London bird-catchers, between April 13th and May 2nd, took two hundred and twenty-five 

 Nightingales, all, except some half-a-dozen, cock birds. The previous year, the same men supplied the 

 dealer who employed them with two hundred and eighty Nightingales, of which not more than sixty 

 were hens. When both males and females have arrived from the south they soon commence iiidifica- 

 tion, and appear to resort to their old breeding localities. At first, not a few conflicts for the possession 

 of their coveted locality take place, but when they have all selected their mates, each pair seems to 

 settle down quietly in a suitable place ; and then they live in amity together, though each pair asserts 

 the right of possession in their own small domain. The site for the nest is selected in a garden Avhere 

 the hedges are thick, or in a well-shaded lane, or else in a wood where the underwood is not too dense, 

 and where the grass and low growth are thick in places. The nest is placed either on or close to the 

 ground, in the latter case usually not more than a foot or so high, in a bunch of twigs, in an old tree- 

 trunk, or in a dense hedge or bundle of faggots. The structure is composed, outside, of dry leaves, 

 visually of the oak, inside which are a few dry bents, and sometimes rushes, or even fine flags; and the 

 cup is carefully lined with fine roots and bents, and occasionally a little horsehair is added. The 

 eggs, from four to six in number, are deposited in May, only one brood being raised in the season. 

 They are uniform deep olive-brown in colour, sometimes with a greenish tinge, and occasionally tinged 

 with reddish-brown, on a greenish- blue, or an olive-green surface, which is sometime.3 entirely, and 

 sometimes only partially, exposed ; and not unfrequently the brown is collected at one end of the egg. 

 In size they vary from about f ^ by f- by f inch. When the young are hatched the male ceases its 

 song, and appears to devote its time to procure food for its offspring. Should danger threaten, a 

 single loud croak is uttered as an alarm note, occasionally accompanied by a snapping of the bill. Its 

 usual call-note is a clear, somewhat prolonged wid or iveed; and pleasure is expressed by a deep note 

 like tack. Its flight is swift and light, but it usually flies only short distances from bush to bush, and 

 during the day-time at least it never seems to fly across any large open space ; yet its power of 

 flight must be by no means inconsiderable, as it traverses considerable distances 011 passage." 



Besides the Nightingale, which has been selected as a typical Warbler, all the Whitethroats, and 

 Sedge and Reed Warblers, are included in the sub-family St/!viince, besides a great number which are 

 not found in the British Isles. N 



THE NINTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS. 

 THE BABBLING THRUSHES (Timduna-). 



These birds constitute a large family, the exact limits of which it is by no means easy to define, 

 but they possess one character which distinguishes them, and that is their rounded and concave wing, 

 which is so formed as to fit close to the body. On being opened, or rather, parted from the side of the 

 body, the arc described by the wing goes far towards the formation of a letter S ; and in order fully to 

 appreciate this characteristic, the wing of a true Thrush requires to be compared with that of a 

 thoroughly typical Babbler. Thus, for instance, the wing of the Common Thrush is long and almost 

 flat, its concavity being scarcely perceptible. A further mark of a true Thrush- with which are to be 

 associated the Warblers and Chats is the possession of a small bastard primary, the second quill being 

 immensely long in comparison, and approaching the longer ones in dimensions. All these birds which 



