106 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



down and the coastguard station ; doubtless 

 many other gems are to be had by working 

 well. The large clumps of Hemp-agrimony 

 form quite a feature all along the under- 

 cliff, from Kingsdown to St. Margaret's Bay, 

 and it was here that formerly Plusia oricTial- 

 cecb was found in some numbers by Harding, 

 but none have been taken there for some 

 years past ; certainly, if an agrimony feeder, 

 it ought still to turn up, but I failed to see 

 anything of it. The Scarlet Tiger occurs in 

 vast numbers, both near Kingsdown, and 

 also near the Bay. It is capital working 

 ground nearly all the way, but very bad 

 travelling for about half a mile, where the 

 sea has washed away the path, leaving only 

 loose shingle. As you near the bay the 

 herbage on the under-cliff gets more varied 

 and luxuriant, and splendid ground where 

 you may work for hours with great results. 

 The Samphire (Crithmmn maritimim) y 

 grows here in great plenty, and it is quite 

 easy to get. One has heard of the dangerous 

 calling of samphire gathering, of being sus- 

 pended from a giddy height, by ropes, to 

 cull this plant for pickling ; but here it 

 could be had in any quantity, and at no 

 risk in the picking, as it grows at the base of 

 the cliffs abundantly. In and near the Bay, 

 Silene nutans grows pretty freely, and last 

 year (1882), I bred Bianthecia albimacula 

 from larvae I collected feeding on the cap_ 

 sules there ; I had the pleasure of breeding 

 fifty of that rare insect from larvae collected 

 there, and also nearer to Dover. By the 

 time you reach the Bay you will be quite 

 ready to get some refreshment, which 

 you can always depend on finding at the 

 little inn, as they get many visitors there in 

 the summer time to enjoy the beautiful and 

 and bold scenery. After refreshment, the 

 walk back, and the evening change of 

 species, given a favourable day, you will 

 doubtless have a goodly take of gems, and 

 by the time you reach Deal Castle you will 

 be tired, but delighted with your trip. 

 Greenwich, March, 1883, 



BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR 

 NESTS AND EGGS. 



By S. L. MosLEY. 

 40. NIGHTINGALE. 



Sylvia luscinia, L. 



LusciNiA (Lat.), nightingale. 



Size. — Length, about 6i in. ; expanse, 

 about loi in. 



Plumage.— The bill is brown; eyes 

 hazel. The whole of the upper parts are of 

 a rich reddish brown, the tail much brighter 

 in colour, and very conspicuous when the 

 bird is flying from you. The under parts 

 are dingy white, lighter on the throat, and 

 light greyish brown on the sides and breast ; 

 under tail-coverts reddish white ; legs and 

 toes brownish. 



The Female resembles the male, but is 

 rather smaller. 



The Young in their first plumage, the 

 feathers on the back have each a pale buff 

 spot, and those on the breast margined with 

 dark colour. * 



Varieties. — Mr. Bond has one white and ! 

 another slightly speckled with white. He 

 has known of another white specimen. | 



Note. — This is, above all, the song-bird 

 of Britain. On a still night its song can, 

 under favourable circumstances, be heard 

 nearly a mile, and it has a greater variety of i 

 notes than any other British bird. It sings 1 

 by day as well as by night, but the songs of 

 other birds and other noises renders it less 

 striking then. 



Flight. — The flight is rather swift, 

 though generally not of long duration, and , 

 directed more or less in a straight line. I 

 Migration. — a summer visitor to this ^ 

 country, arriving in the south the beginning , 

 of April, and departing again at the end of j 

 August or the beginning of September. 1 



Food. — Small insects of all sorts. They 

 feed very much upon the ground, and are 



