THE NIGHTINGALE. 365 



hidden meaning of these sounds, we should doubtless find that 

 they expressed the secret feelings of the singer. All over the 

 world, from Sweden to Hindostan, the Nightingale's song is 

 essentially the same ; though, as I have before said, some are 

 manifestly superior to others, both in the perfectness of their 

 song, and the quality of their voice. One utters its notes 

 with a slow and sweet mournfulness ; another's tones are 

 peculiarly clear and sonorous ; a third introduces into its song 

 original passages of its own ; and a fourth surpasses all the 

 rest in the silvery quality of its yoice. Occasionally, however, 

 birds may be found which seem to unite all these excellencies ; 

 and these are generally from the first brood of the year, which 

 have been reared in some spot where Nightingales have 

 abounded, and have learned to unite in their song the charac- 

 teristic beauties of each. When the males return from their 

 migration, which they generally do six or eight days before the 

 females, they sing for some time before and after midnight, 

 to attract the females, who in clear nights may be pursuing 

 their journey. So soon as this purpose is accomplished they 

 cease to sing by night, though some continue to begin their 

 song a little before sunrise, and warble it at intervals through- 

 out the day. There are, however, Nightingales which always 

 sing in the middle of the night, and are hence called Nocturnal 

 Nightingales ;* but it cannot be decided to which class a bird 

 belongs till he has occupied his position for some days, and 

 enjoyed the society of his mate. After many years' experience, 

 I have come to the conclusion that the Nocturnal and Diurnal 

 Nightingales are different species, which propagate themselves 

 regularly. A young bird, the father of which is a Nocturnal 

 Nightingale, will, after the first year, become so too, under any 

 circumstances ; nor, on the other hand, does it seem possible 

 for a Diurnal Nightingale to acquire the habit of singing by 

 night. I have also remarked that the night singers seem to 

 prefer mountainous districts, while the Diurnal Nightingales 



* We must distinguish between the Nocturnal Nightingales and those 

 which are termed Mopers. The former sing uninterruptedly throughout 

 the night ; the latter occasionally utter a few broken, unconnected pas- 

 sages. All Nightingales become Mopers after they are five or six years 

 old, and are then often mistaken for night-singing birds ; while, on the 

 contrary, the true night-singers are generally Mopers for a year or two 

 after they are caught. 



