ORDER PASSERES. 21 



agreeable nutriment. On these conditions it will begin to 

 sing about the end of eight days, and even sooner, it it be 

 not yet mated, that is, before the 25th of April, otherwise it 

 generally dies in consequence of the loss of the female ; if 

 taken after the 15th of May, it will not sing at all. 



The race which our author notices, of a larger size, in the 

 eastern parts of Europe (SyL Philomela, Meyer), differs from 

 the common nightingale, not only in dimensions, but in depth 

 of colour, and extent of voice. The latter is so powerful, 

 that the bird can hardly be kept in a room ; it sings more 

 slowly than the other, and its style is altogether inferior. It 

 can be heard at a much greater distance than the common 

 nightingale, particularly at night. 



The nightingale though a timid and solitary bird, is 

 capable, in the long run, of an attachment to the person who 

 tends it. Some have been known to die of regret at the 

 change of masters, and others having been left free to fly 

 into the woods, have voluntarily returned to their captivity. 

 It is very certain that the bird does not like change. It 

 grows sad, unquiet, and ceases to sing, if transported from 

 one situation to another, or even if it changes place in the 

 same apartment ; therefore, not to interrupt its song, it should 

 remain in the same spot during the whole season. 



Nightingales which are kept in cages, have a habit of 

 bathing themselves after they have sung ; they should there- 

 fore be provided every day with fresh water. This bird, when 

 not tamed, grows desperate at the sight of any strange object ; 

 it would infallibly perish, if placed, like other birds, in a cage 

 open to the light on all sides ; it would dash itself against 

 the bars until it was killed. But when the light is excluded, 

 it remains quiet, and consoles itself by singing and eating. 



These birds have naturally but two seasons for singing, 

 May and December. But in a state of captivity this order 

 may be changed; for this purpose, the old male is put 

 in a proper cage, and shut up in a closet rendered obscure 



