THE tflGKTINGALE. 357 



trary, he takes no notice of many things which are put before 

 him, however strange or peculiar they may be. 



Habitat. The Nightingale is found throughout Europe, as 

 far north as the middle of Sweden ; in all Asia, except the 

 arctic regions of Siberia ; and even in Egypt, on the banks of 

 the Nile. It frequents overgrown, shady, and not very cold 

 places, whether woods, groves, gardens, or hedges. It is rarely 

 found in woods of coniferous trees, where its food is scarce : 

 and in wooded mountain chains, keeps to the outskirts of 

 the forests. It seems to prefer gardens enclosed by high, 

 broad, and untrimmed beech hedges, which afford abundant 

 shelter. It is a mistake to suppose that it has any preference 

 for marshy districts ; and if seen there in great numbers, the 

 reason may be found either in the thickets with which such 

 places are often overgrown, or in the fact, that during cold 

 weather, the insects which form the Nightingale's food may 

 be found in greater abundance there than elsewhere. It is, 

 besides, a fact, established by observation, that this bird al- 

 ways returns to its birth-place, whether marsh, mountain, or 

 garden. This attachment increases every year ; and when 

 once the Nightingale has made choice of a spot, it always 

 comes back to it except it fall in the mean time into the 

 hands of the fowler, or the place lose its attraction. If, for 

 instance, the grove be cut down, or the underwood which 

 affords the desired shade be removed, it betakes itself to the 

 nearest convenient situation ; but if within a considerable cir- 

 cuit, all remain unaltered, and a Nightingale be observed to 

 frequent a spot not so tenanted the year before, it may with 

 certainty be concluded to be a young bird. Yet, though it is 

 a well-known fact, that the Nightingale returns year by year 

 to the same place, we cannot conclude with certainty that the 

 bird we notice for two successive years in one spot, is the same ; 

 as it is also proved by experience, that if a bird which occu- 

 pies a well-chosen station, be shot or snared, its place is imme- 

 diately occupied by another. These changes, however, are not 

 easily discovered, except by an ear accustomed to detect slight 

 differences in the language of these birds. 



It may be asked why Nightingales are never found in so 

 many districts, which are to all appearance likely to attract 

 them ? The following conjectures may, perhaps, throw some 

 light upon this question, which it is of course impossible to 



