The Nightingale. 1a 
about the middle of April, and builds soon after its 
settlement, in the lower parts of a hedge or in a thick 
bush, placing its nest—which is composed of dried 
grass, leaves, and fibres, lined with hair and other 
warm materials—near the ground. The female lays 
four or five eggs, and hatches them with the heat of 
her ody, = the male takes no part in the’ work of 
incubation, but, while his mate is thus employed, he 
will sit near entertaining her with his charming 
melody. But when the young are hatched, he leaves 
off singing, and joins her in providing for their family. 
The Nightingale generally has more than one brood 
ina year; and I have found the nest of this bird ina 
particular stump of hawthorn for three years in suc- 
cession; and if the hedge had not been cut down, no 
doubt I should have found it there for many more, as 
I believe these birds return to the same place year 
after Wear. 
The Nightingale is a solitary bird, and pours forth 
— its delightful harmony in the night, when all around 
- is still—giving the midnight air the full tones of its 
enraptured frame; and at such times as these it sits 
