276 BRITISH BIRDS. 



ERITHACUS LUSCINIA. 

 THE NIGHTINGALE. 



(Plate 9.) 



Ficedula luscinia, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 397 (1760). 



Motacilla luscinia, Linn. Si/st. Nat. i. p. 328 fl766) ; et auctonun plurimorum — 



Omelin, Bechstein, {Bathatn), (Temminclx) , (Selhy), (OouM), {Bonajiarte) , (JDe- 



gUind), (Oerhe), {Loche), (Sahadori), (Netvton), Itc. 

 Sylvia luscinia (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I, Hist. Nat. p. 154 (1769). 

 Aedon luscinia (Linn.), Forst. Syn. Vat. Br. B. p. 53 (1814). 

 Ourruca luscinia (Linn.'), Koch, Syst. baier. Zoul. i. p. 154 (1816). 

 Daulias luscinia (Linn.), Boie, Lsis, 1831, p. 542. 

 Philomela luscinia (Linn.). Selhy, Brit. Orn. i. p. 206 (1833). 

 Lusciola luscinia (Linn.), Keys. ri. Bias. Wii-h. Eur. pp. Iviii, 189 (1840). 

 Eritliacus luscinia (Linn.), Degl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 499 (1849). 

 Luscinia vera, Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 220 (1869). 

 Luscinia phUomela (Beehst.), apud Brehm, Bonaparte, Gray, Cahanis, Gould, Heuglin, 



Harting, &c. 



The Nightingale is a common summer visitor to all the counties of 

 England, except those in the north and west^ being comparatively rare in 

 South Yorkshire, Shropshire^ and East Devon^ which may be considered 

 the limits of its range in our islands. It has never been recorded from 

 Ireland ; and its alleged occurrence in Scotland rests upon very doubtful 

 authority, though it may possibly visit the latter country as an accidental 

 straggler. 



It is pretty generally distributed on the continent of Europe during the 

 breeding-season south of Scandinavia and west of Russia, only occurring 

 in the latter country accidentally. It passes through North Africa on 

 migration, a few remain to breed in Algeria ; but the majority winter in 

 the interior somewhere south of Abyssinia. In South Sweden and Central 

 Russia our Nightingale is replaced by the Eastern Nightingale {Erithacus 

 philomela), a species whose breeding-range extends eastwards into Asia 

 Minor, Northern Turkestan, and South-western Siberia. Westwards its 

 range overlaps that of our bird, occasionally reaching as far as the valley 

 of the Rhine. It is not improbable that this bird has occurred in Great 

 Britain^ but its presence has been overlooked. An equally near ally, the 

 Persian Nightingale (Ei-ithacus guhii), breeds in the cultivated districts 

 of Turkestan and West Persia, extending its western range as far as 

 the Caucasus. In coloration this species is intermediate between our 

 Nightingale and E. philomela, being slightly more olive than the former 

 and slightly more russet than the latter. In its wing-formula it resembles 

 the former species ; but may be distinguished from both by its slightly 

 longer bill (•07 to '06 inch) and much larger tail (3'32 to 2'95 inch). 



