Lutea — Luteola — Luscinia 109 



The little bird, which I believe to be the Luteus. is some- 

 what bigger than a Sparrow. It is yellow on the breast and 

 belly in the cock ; but in the hen the breast is yellow and 

 the belly pale. Yellow are mixed with dark feathers upon 

 the head, back, and wings. In each of them the beak is 

 short and stout, and on it one may find a sort of knob 

 that simulates a tooth. Apart from worms it eats barley 

 and oats freely. The tail of this small bird is rather long 

 and is in constant motion. 



Of the Luteola. 



XXmpt?, luteola, in English a siskin, in German eyn zey- 

 sich, or of some eyn engelchen, 



The Luteola is much smaller than the Lutea above de- 

 scribed, and with a colour tending more to green. It has 

 a yellow breast, a longish, slender, pointed bill, like that 

 in Aurivittis, and two spots of black, one on the forehead, 

 one beneath the chin ; it warbles with some sweetness. In 

 England it is rare, and scarcely to be seen elsewhere than 

 in cages. Yet I remember having seen it once among the 

 fields of Cambridgeshire. Of this kind are those which 

 England calls Canary birds ^ 



Of the Luscinia. 



'AijSftJi', luscinia, philomela, in Enghsh a nyghtyngall, in 

 German eyn nachtgall. 



Aristotle. 

 In summer the Luscinia lays five or six eggs, 

 but from autumn it lies hid continually until the days 

 of spring. Now the Luscinia is wont to sing in- 

 cessantly for fifteen days and nights, when woods 

 begin to become dark with foliage. Later it sings 

 indeed, but not incessantly, then in the height of 

 summer it gives forth a different note, not varied 

 over and above, or quick and modulated, but a simple 



1 Gesner, the first to describe the Canary-bird, states that Turner 

 informed him of it. 



