38 THE NIGHTINGALE. 



their curious ditties, with which nature has furnished 

 them, to the shame of art;" but proud as they may 

 be of their own skill, they are not insensible to the 

 harmony of musical instruments. The German 

 hymn, played upon a flute very softly, near a bush, 

 in which there was a nest, soon attracted the atten- 

 tion of the birds. Scarcely was the air finished, than 

 the cock was heard to chirp; and when played a 

 second time, it was seen to hop through the bushes 

 with great quickness, towards the place where the 

 player stood, at the same time making a sort of sub- 

 warbling, which it soon changed into its usual beau- 

 tiful and lengthened song. 



The Nightingale is usually supposed to withhold 

 his notes till the sun has set, and then to be the only 

 songster left. This is, however, not quite true, for 

 he sings in the day, often as sweetly, and as power- 

 fully as at night; but amidst the general chorus of 

 other singing birds, his efforts are less noticed. Neither 

 is he, by any means, the only feathered musician of 

 the night. The Wood-lark will, to a very late hour, 

 pour forth its rich notes, flying in circles round the 

 female, when sitting on her nest. The Sky-lark, too, 

 may frequently be heard till near midnight, high in 

 the air, soaring as if in the brightness of a Summer's 

 morning. Again, we have listened with pleasure, 

 long after dark, to the warblings of a Thrush, and 

 been awakened at two in the morning, by its sweet 

 serenade. The Sedge-bird and Grasshopper-lark 

 may also be heard long after sun-set. 



Light, however, seems to be, in most cases, a re- 

 gulator of their song, for in the case of the Sky-lark 

 and Thrush, as it occurred in the middle of June, 



