May 23.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
115 I 
ENGLISH CAGE BIRDS. 
THE NIGHTINGALE. 
Txsessokf.s Dexterostres. Sylviad.e. 
Sylvia hisciaia. Molacilla luscinia. Carmen. luscinia. Philo¬ 
mela luscinia. Philomel. 
This is, unquestionably, the most beautiful of songsters; 
is most easily kept, and as easily captured. The time of its 
arrival into this country, being one of our summer migra- 
tories, is about the middle of April. I have had two brought 
me this day (April 18th); and before T give a description of 
its mode of treatment, I shall endeavour to describe its mode 
of capture, together with a rough sketch of the trap commonly 
known as the “ nightingale-trapfor you must first catch your 
j bird before you keep it. The males arrive first, and the sooner 
! they are caught the better, for if caught after the arrival of 
| the female they are not so soon reconciled to confinement, 
unless the female is placed with them; and as the bird is 
i only cared for, for its song, the female is not desired. The 
! trail is formed of thin pieces of wood shaped like fig. 2, with a 
centre piece, /?;/. 5, fixed to it for the trap string to run through, 
S 
and having a piece of iron hooping nailed to the back, and turned 
up at each side, to form the shoulders or receptacle for the 
pivots of the wooden roller, as shewn in fhj. 3. The wooden 
o 
roller is then made secure in the iron shoulders, giving it 
freedom of play; a piece of string is then fixed to about the 
middle of the roller, passed under the roller and attached 
firmly to a spring, such as is used for bells, which is simply 
a close coil of wire; this is firmly nailed to that part of the 
handle of the base as is represented in jiy 1. A wire is then 
attached to the roller covered with very fine net, but loosely 
covered, so that when it falls upon the bird will be so loose 
as to allow its struggling without being pressed against the 
board. A line is then attached to a piece of cork, or rather 
a cork at one end, and the other passing through an eyelet 
hole, such as a stair-rod eye, or piece of wire curved thus fj. 
is fixed to the upper portion of the wire as represented in figs, j 
1 and 4. The trap is set thus—by elevating the wire attached 1 
