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CHAPTER XXXV. 



WARBLERS. 



The Nightingale, thougH possessed of so sweet a song, is in plumage exceedingly un- 

 pretending, but its form is very graceful. In length it is about six and a half inches. The 

 beak, like that of all birds of this class {i.e., of those whose principal food consists of 

 insects), is straight and oval-shaped, thin and pointed, with both mandibles of nearly equal 

 size ; the upper one dark brown and the lower yellowish-brown, but darker at the tip. The 

 whole of the upper part of the bird is a rich chestnut-brown, the wings being slightly 

 brighter ; the tail reddish-brown, rather long and rounded ; the breast is a dull whitish-grey, 

 slightly tinged with brown ; the throat and belly pale whitish-grey ; the under tail-coverts pale 

 brownish-white ; the legs (which are rather long) a greyish-brown. ?."he female is somewhat 

 smaller than the male, but the difference between the sexes is very difficult to distinguish, 

 and we would recommend any purchaser to choose a large bird with a bold eye. It has also 

 been held by some authorities that the throat of the male is lighter than that of the female; 

 it may therefore be advisable to keep that point in view. 



The stay of the Nightingale in this country is but short. In the early part of April the 

 birds begin to arrive, the males preceding the females sometimes by as many as ten days or 

 even a fortnight. An extraordinary feature in these birds, and one worthy of particular notice, 

 is that they invariably, by some inscrutable instinct, fly direct to their last year's nesting-place ; 

 only the young of the preceding year straying from the old familiar spot, since they necessarily 

 must choose a fresh situation wherein to build their nest. This is the best time to catch them, 

 as they more readily take food, and you are sure of procuring a male ; later on — say after about 

 the 20th April-^fhe bird is much wilder, very often refuses food, and in a short time pines away 

 and dies. Almost directly after the arrival of the males they begin to sing, by which means they 

 attract their mates. If taken during the pairing season they will become absolutely mute, and 

 are scarcely ever kept alive. 



The Nightingale's nest is built' of a variety of materials, such as leaves, dried stalks of grasses, 

 bits of bark and fibrous roots, lined with finer grasses and horsehair, loosely put together and 

 placed in some hollow in the ground, in the roots or stump of a tree, or towards the bottom of a . 

 hedgerow. During the building the male bird puts forth the whole volume of its song. It has 

 always been a subject of surprise that so small a bird should possess such extraordinary power, it 

 having often been heard in the stillness of night at a distance of a mile ; but the fact is explained 

 by the comparatively great strength of the muscles of the throat. The favourite haunts are small 

 shady copses, groves, plantations, woods, quiet gardens, and thick hedgerows. From such retreats 

 it favours us with varied and beautiful lays, which are full of the richest melodies, and end with a 

 peculiarly beautiful " scale " that sounds almost like harmonics. This continues during incuba- 

 tion, and is directly inspired by love for the mate, who so quietly and patiently performs her 

 monotonous duties. The answering song of some neighbour challenges it, as it were, to a vocal 

 contest, and all others in the neighbourhood, taking up the strain, will fill the whole valley with 

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