94 
G. ROOPER-NOTES ON BIRDS 
Nightingales were heard this year on the 16th of April. No 
bird is more easily caught by that pernicious race the birdcatchers 
than the nightingale, and, though sold at a high price, on none is 
their cruelty more gratuitously exercised. At least nine out of ten 
die before they become reconciled to captivity, and even if they 
live, their lives are very short. The cock bird arrives ten days 
before the hen, and if caught after her arrival invariably dies. 
They are becoming more scarce here every year. I used to have 
a nest or two in my garden, but for many years I have had none : 
this spring, though, I had a nest. Boys believe that there is 
always a thorn running through the nest of a nightingale. Of 
course this is fabulous, but the notion was no doubt at one time 
prevalent. Shakespeare, in one of his Sonnets, says :— 
“ She, poor bird, as all forlorn, 
Leaned her breast until a thorn.” 
The nightingale, as we all know, sings throughout the night, as 
well as in the day; but she is far from being the only bird that 
thus gladdens the night-season. The willow-wren, the sedge- 
warbler, the corn-crake, and frequently the cuckoo, sing, at least 
in summer, the night through. In the case of beasts, this habit of 
utilising the night-season is far more prevalent than with birds. 
Indeed, the shades of night are to them their “ opening day.” The 
poet has told us that “our life is twofold, sleep has its own world.” 
But sleep is not enjoyed by the majority of animals, at least of 
wild animals, at night, as with us, but during the day. When 
the “evening shades prevail,” the fox and the badger, the otter 
and the polecat, the whole family of rats and mice, and their 
enemies the stoats and weasels, steal forth from their lairs and seek 
their food or their mates. Many aquatic birds, too, wing their way 
high overhead in the dead of night, terrifying with their unearthly 
screams the superstitious fishermen, who believe them to emanate 
from the spirits of the departed seeking their appointed place. 
Books, during the breeding season, appear hardly to sleep at all. 
Pass through a rookery at what hour of the night you may, you 
will always hear a subdued conversation being carried on by the 
wakeful birds—perhaps mothers dilating on the beauties and merits 
of their respective offspring. In the way of providing food for 
their young, rooks are indefatigable; from earliest morn to late 
in the evening they never cease from the task of feeding their 
clamorous young—no “ eight hours bill ” for them ! Those restless 
peewits, too, appear never to sleep. If at any hour of the night you 
approach a flock roosting on the ground, you will hear a continuous 
conversation being carried on, in low querulous tones, but never 
ceasing. Numerous insects, too, moths and beetles especially, as 
entomologists know, seek repose during the day, and at night 
are abroad and active. Bees, flies, and butterflies, on the other 
hand, sleep during the night. Nature in fact allows of no rest or 
pause in her operations. Whether by night or day the great 
scheme of creation is carried on, and each bird and beast knows 
its appointed time, and carries out its appointed functions. 
