NIGHTINGALE. 
99 
The Nightingale, in its natural state, is by no means a shy 
bird ; it may be frequently noticed by day by those who are 
acquainted with its plain brown plumage ; and in the silence 
of night, wdien its presence is more easily detected by its 
song, it is found in many sylvan localities to be an inha¬ 
bitant of our gardens, wherever tall trees invite its residence. 
When caged, the Nightingale is capable of strong attach¬ 
ment towards those who feed and attend upon it, and may 
be kept for a considerable time. Bechstein mentions one 
that lived in confinement twenty-five years. Individuals 
caught soon after their arrival in this country may frequently 
be preserved without difficulty, but when taken later in the 
season, after the females have appeared, they pine and die. 
Young birds may be brought up from the nest with a reason¬ 
able degree of care, and these, having never known the charms 
of liberty, are not conscious of its loss. The young nestlings 
very early begin to sing ; we were lately assured by a person 
who is fond of ornithology, and who has, with much success, 
frequently brought up nestlings of this species, that a young 
Nightingale, taken by him from the nest, began to sing on 
the seventh day from its capture. It was, he conjectured 
from the forwardness of its nestling plumage, about nine 
days old when taken, so that on the sixteenth day of its 
existence this little Avarbler, taught by native instinct, com¬ 
menced its musical career. We cannot but consider this 
as an instance of precocious talent, since few birds begin 
to sing while in their nestling feathers. 
Gilbert White’s opinion, that Nightingales enter England 
at the narrowest passage, namely, at the straits of Dover, 
appears very probable, as they are heard much earlier on the 
continent of Europe than they are here. In Holland, they 
arrive sometimes as early as the middle of March, at w'hich 
time we have frequently heard them, in plantations on the 
borders of the Amstel, in the immediate vicinity of Amster- 
