NIGHTINGALE. 
the evening, and when hard pressed with hunger ! 
during her absence the male seems to cast an eye on 
the nest. In eighteen or twenty days the young 
begin to burst their shells, and the number of the 
cock birds is generally double that of the hens. 
And hence, when in April a cock is caught, the hen 
soon finds another mate, the loss of which is sup- 
plied by a third, and so on ; insomuch that the suc- 
cessive seizure of three or four males has little effect 
on the multiplication of the brood. The hen dis- 
gorges the food for the young, as in the canaries, 
and the cock assists. He now ceases to warble, 
and is totally absorbed in the concerns of his fa- 
mily ; and even during incubation, it is said, he 
seldom sings near the nest, lest he discover it ; but 
if a person approach it, his paternal solicitude 
drowns the suggestions of prudence, and his shrieks 
only increase the danger. In less than a fortnight 
the young are fledged ; and at this time we ought to 
remove those intended to be trained. After they 
are flown the parents make a second hatch, and 
then a third ; but the last fails if the cold sets in 
early. In hot countries they breed even four times 
annually ; but the late hatches are always more 
scanty.” 
It has been remarked that birds of gay and bril- 
liant colours have generally disagreeable voices, 
while those of a more sober tint are frequently 
melodious : thus has Nature made an equal distri- 
bution of her favours, since both have their at- 
tractions. The plumage of the nightingale is very 
