488 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
and dry leaves, generally raised a little from the ground by a deposit of dead twigs, 
and screened from observation by a profusion of wild brambles or a crop of stinging 
nettles ; the eggs being uniform olive-brown or coffee-coloured. The female, though 
shy, is much devoted to her charge, and 
will allow a stranger to stand close 
beside her without exhibiting her agita¬ 
tion further than by a slight nervous 
movement of the head which only 
enables him to obtain a better view of 
the little russet bird, her dark eye 
beaming; out of its whitish orbit. The 
nightingale is easily trapped, and was 
formerly an object of eager pursuit 
among bird-catchers, who used to imitate 
the cry of the bird in order to lead it up 
to the trap which they had prepared for 
it, bated with a live insect. One bird- 
catcher informed us that he once caught 
two male nightingales in this manner in 
less than ten minutes; this occurred, of 
course, in a locality where nightingales were plentiful, and upon the first arrival 
of the males. When the nightingale has hatched her young both parents become 
absorbed in catering for their progeny. The song is chiefly heard during the 
night, simply because other birds are then comparatively silent, but the nightingale 
sings with great power even during the middle of the day. The male has the 
upper-parts russet-brown shading into chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and tail; 
the lower-parts being buffish white shading into greyish white on the breast and 
flanks. 
Eastern In the east of Europe the English nightingale is replaced by a 
Nightingale, somewhat larger bird ( E. philomela), which has a distinct song, 
differing from that of its congener in its greater volume and inferior perfection. 
It breeds generally in thickets in the neighbourhood of water, and builds a similar 
nest to that of the well-known bird. The plumage of the eastern nightingale 
differs from that of the common species in being of a more olive-brown, especially 
on the upper tail-coverts, in having a more pointed wing, a smaller bastard-primary, 
and in being slightly spotted or streaked on the breast with grey. A third species 
is the Persian nightingale ( E. golzi). 
New Zealand Here may be noticed two Australasian genera of birds, placed by 
Robins. some among the flycatchers, but regarded by Dr. Sharpe as allied to 
the stonechat and whinchat. It should be observed, however, that the same 
ornithologist separates (as Pratincola) the last-named birds from Saxicola to place 
them among the flycatchers. The New Zealand robins (Miro) are characterised by 
having a slender bill, straight, and furnished with rictal bristles; the wings being 
moderate and extending to half the length of the tail, and rounded; while the tail is 
broad and even, the feathers being sharply cut off at their tips. The metatarsus 
is very long and slender. This genus belongs to the avifauna of New Zealand and 
i! i r:r ~ 
THE NIGHTINGALE. 
