ON THE SONGS OF THE WARBLERS. 73 



lengthen. Those that sing at present are, two Nightingales, 

 one Redstart, and the larger White-throat : the Willow Wren 

 has also begun a little, but its notes are very low at present. 

 When they are all in full song I will write to you again, as you 

 will probably be surprised at some of their notes. 



As I mentioned to you when here, I once had a female 

 Nightingale, which built a nest with me in a little work-basket 

 that was put in its cage on purpose. In three days it built a 

 very large and fine nest, which was constructed with dry leaves 

 and pieces of mat . (it was a one-year-old bird.) It laid three 

 eggs, on which it sat about two days, when it was almost famished 

 for want of food ; the male not being very well at the time, so 

 that he would not feed her. She then left the nest to feed, 

 and, when she returned, she threw out the eggs and broke them. 

 I have no doubt but she would have succeeded well another 

 season, but a gentleman wishing particularly to have her, I 

 parted with her. My Whitethroats have often built in the cage, 

 but have never laid ; I believe the reason is, they are too fat : 

 the male Whi'.ethroat works at the building as much as the fe- 

 male, which is not the case with the Nightingale, — the female 

 completes the whole herself. 



The Nightingale, in confinement, only sings by night in 

 summer ; but my Redstart sings every night at the present time. 

 I once had a Redstart that was bred up by hand from the 

 nest, which learnt to sing the Copenhagen Waltz, which was 

 occasionally sung to it, and it would go through regularly with 

 the person that sung to it, only stopping occasionally to say 

 chipput. This is mentioned in my account of that species in the 

 work that I published on this tribe;* likewise of a Whitethroat 



* " The British Warblers: an account of the genus Sylvia \ 

 illustrated by six beautifully coloured figures, taken from living 

 specimens in the author's collection, with directions for their 

 treatment according to the author's method ; in which is ex- 

 plained how the interesting and fine singing birds belonging to 



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