THE NIGHTINGALE. 



Daulias luscinia (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 4. 



The unrivalled song of the Nightingale, delivered throughout the greater 

 part of the night, as well as during the day, has made the bird celebrated from 

 the earliest times. The male birds, which arrive in this country a week or 

 more before the females, reach us about the middle of April, and, apparently, 

 return year after year to the same spot. The general distribution of the 

 Nightingale in England seems to be roughly as follows. The eastern parts of 

 Devonshire, Somerset, and the south of Glamorgan. In the valley of the Wye, 

 through Hereford, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, extending a few 

 miles beyond York, in all of which districts it is scarce and local. Southwards 

 in the midland, southern, and eastern parts of the country it becomes more 

 plentiful, and is abundant in some districts. It has once occurred in Scotland, 

 one example having been taken on the Isle of May on May 9, 191 1. 



Abroad the Nightingale is found over a great part of Europe, from Northern 

 Germany to the Mediterranean countries, while it spends the winter in Africa. 



The nest is placed on the ground, or just above it, and is constructed of 

 dead leaves, mostly of the oak, and withered grass, with a lining of fine rootlets, 

 grasses, and occasionally horse-hair. The eggs, four or five in number, are 

 usually olive-brown, or sometimes bluish-green, marked with reddish-brown. 



The Nightingale loves the thick undergrowth of tall hedges, coppices, and 

 shrubberies, and is fond of thick cover in the neighbourhood of streams. 



The food consists of worms and various insects, as well as fruit and berries. 



It seems surprising how little Nightingales are affected by cold ; late at 

 night on May 18, 19 13, I heard two birds in full song, although the ther- 

 mometer stood at 38 degrees, and the wind was bitterly keen. In June the 

 Nightingale ceases to sing. 



The female does not differ from the male in colour. 



A larger and greyer species, having a somewhat harsher song, and known 



as the Thrush Nightingale or " Sprosser," Daulias Philomela^ has once been 



obtained on Fair Isle, Shetlands, May 15, 191 1. A sketch of this bird is 



given on Plate 5. 



It is found in Northern and Eastern Europe. 



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