336 ZOOLOGY. 
bird of very plain plumage, light brownish grey above and white on the 
lower parts of the body, native of the whole of Europe as far north as 
Sweden, al] Asia as far as Siberia, and northern Africa, every where 
choosing its residence in shady woods, thickets, or even hedges in the 
fields. It is also partial to thickly set orchards and gardens, and is 
supposed to have a great preference for the neighborhood of its birth. 
The nightingale is migratory, and appears in northern Europe about the 
middle of April; and it is during the season of selecting his mate and 
attending to the duties of rearing his young, that the male pours out that 
incomparable song which has established him as the greatest of feathered 
vocalists, beyond comparison. 
“The nightingale,” says Dr. Bechstein (Nat. Hist. of Cage Birds), 
“expresses his different emotions by suitable and particular tones. The 
most unmeaning cry when he is alone appears to be a simple whistle, ‘fit ;’ 
but if the syllable ‘ err’ is added, it is then the call of the male to the female. 
The sign of displeasure or fear is ‘itt,’ repeated rapidly and loudly before 
adding the terminating ‘err ;’ whilst that of satisfaction and pleasure, such 
for example as conjugal endearments, or on the occasion of finding a 
delicate morsel, is a deep ‘tack,’ which may be imitated by smacking the 
tongue. 
“In anger, jealousy, rivalry, or any extraordinary event, he utters hoarse - 
and disagreeable sounds somewhat like a jay or a cat. Lastly, in the 
season of pairing, when the male and female entice and pursue each other 
from the top of a tree to its base, and thence again to the top, a gentle 
subdued warbling is all that is heard. 
“Nature has granted these tones to both sexes; but the male is par- 
ticularly endowed with such very striking musical talents, that in this 
respect he surpasses all birds, and has acquired the name of the king of 
songsters. The strength of his vocal organ is indeed wonderful, and it has 
been found that the muscles of his larynx are much more powerful than 
those of any other bird. But it is less the strength than the compass, 
flexibility, prodigious variety, and harmony of his voice which make it so 
admired by all lovers of the beautiful. Sometimes dwelling for minutes on 
a strain composed of only two or three melancholy tones, he begins in an 
under voice, and swelling it gradually by the most superb crescendos to the 
highest point of strength, he ends it by a. dying cadence; or it consists of a 
rapid succession of more brilliant sounds, terminated, like many other 
strains of his song, by some detached ascending notes. ‘Twenty-four 
different strains or couplets may be reckoned in the song of a fine night- 
ingale, without including its delicate variations ; for among these, as among 
other musicians, there are some great performers and many middling ones. 
“It is true that the nightingales of all countries, the south as well as the 
north, appear to sing in the same manner ; there is, however, as has beeu 
already observed, so great a difference in the degree of perfection that we 
cannot help acknowledging that one has a great superiority over another. 
On points of beauty, however, when the senses are the judges, each has his 
peculiar taste. If one nightingale has the talent of dwelling agreeably on 
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