98 
SYLVIAD.E. 
or running streams does not appear necessary, to them, as 
we know them to subsist in great numbers in situations at 
some distance from running water; therefore, their seeming 
partiality for river-side localities may be in consequence of 
their usually low and sheltered position. 
The continent of Europe possesses another and larger 
species of Nightingale, the Sylvia philomela of Bechstein, 
which, from its habit of residing in hilly as well as in level 
countries, might be more worthy the attention of experi¬ 
mentalists who wish to establish these delightful warblers 
beyond the limits of our native Nightingale ; but, as the 
position of this species is still further removed towards the 
east, being an inhabitant of Austria, Germany, and Poland, 
it is doubtful whether individuals reared in this country would 
return. 
The arrival of this species in England takes place usually in 
the middle of April; and sometimes, on the coast of Suffolk, 
as early as the 7th of that month. The presence of the 
males, whose arrival precedes that of the females by some 
days, is immediately announced by their incomparable song, 
which, when first heard in the still moist evenings of this 
hopeful season, adds another charm to the opening promises of 
spring. The song of this delightful warbler has been allowed, 
in all ages, and we believe in all countries where it is known, 
to be unrivaled. Buffon, after enumerating many of the 
finest singing birds of Europe, including the blackcap, the 
lark, the canary, and the blackbird, affirms that the song 
of each of these, when taken in its whole extent, is only one 
couplet of that of the Nightingale. 
The power of the song of this species is no less surprising 
than its elegance and variety ; it has been ascertained that its 
voice may be heard, when the air is calm, to fill a space of a 
mile in diameter. It has been also noticed by Mr. Hunter, 
that the muscles of the larynx are, in this species, stronger 
than in any other of its size. 
