Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-10-21
The Nightingale.

''h "f'Cer mas essaycd t6 give us the
notation OF the song of the nightingale, or
rather an imitation of the sounds in words
which, though they fail to give an idea of the
notes TO one who has never heard them, are per-
lectiy traceable by such as know the song WE'LL
ana are correct as to the order of succession.
DANES harrington has recorded the names by
which the English bird-fanciers of the last GEN.
Jury distinguished every seperate note of the
song, many OF them being almost identical in
sound with those of the German essayist. Most
OF tho names mentioned by Darlington are still
IN use among connoiseurs, and are very express
ive' especially the Jug" as applied to a note
which, in clear and brilliant tone, repeats the
sound " Dung dug dug dug y" some
times as many as sixty Or seventy times, finish
ing when brilliant shake or rattle. Then
there is the g Sweet Jug being similar note
IN more finely drawn and sweeter tone then
follow the "Bell-pipe,'' the "Scroty," the
" Rattle, " the " Pipe-rattle,' and the " Water
bubble, the last being a delicious note, resem-
bling the trickling of water through deep and
narrow channel in brook when swollen by
summer shower. The names of many other
notes are recorded but do not recolect that
the one known by the peesent race of fanc,ers
as the g Doane," or g Done is mentioned.
1t is one of the most characteristic, and the
most entirely unlike anything in the song of
other birds. 1t commences in Il deep, rich, con-
tralto tone, long drawn out, and getting grad
ully fainter then it is repeated half tone
higher and rises Semitone each repetition, till
brilliant pitch of voice is reached when it
suddenly quits the plantlve adag'o in which the
gradual rising was performed, and bursts into
a short brilliant cadence that gushes forth like
the last notes of passionate brauura, or like
one of those glttering codas of Beethoven that
terminate suddenly with a few daring notes,
some wild and fantastic scherzo.
With regard to singing only at night, can
state from my own experience that the nightin-
gale sings with the greatest power and brlllian
cy at about nine in the morning, but so many
other birds are then joining in the woodland
concert that only experienced connoiseurs stay
to distinguish the melody of the nightingale
from the general buzz of song, though it is, in
fact, distinct enough, rising above the accom-
panying chorus like the notes Of prima dona
whose brilliant and passionate bursts of decla-
nation ring out clear and distinct above all ac-
companying sounds of voice orchestra. 1t il
not, as Darlington ingeniously observes, that
part of the charm of the song arises from be-
ing heard at night, when all other birds are s..
lent, but tnat then 1t receives It's cnlei i.tuiac
ton from those who are ignorant of the laeC
that the night-song of the nightingale is not it's
only song, and in fact only "a continuation Of
the one generally commenced shortly before twi-
light.
Occasionally, In the warm, still, balmy even
lngs OF high summer, the nightingale will burst
INTO new song after dark which, however,
seldom continues later than eleven o'clock
though on such evenings have heard OCCASION
al brief outbursts till after midnight, when, on
account of the general Stiffness it is heard for
considerable distance for the volume of sound.
1t has been calculated, fills something more than
mile in diameter, or quite as much as the hu-
man voice Our great surgeon, the celebrated
William Hunter and moro recently DR.. Tros-
chel' in his essay on the muscles of the throat
in singing birds, sought to account for this ex-
traordinary power in so small a bird by anatom-
ical Investigation, and found that the muscular
tissues of the throat were much stronger in pro-
portion to its size in the nightingale than in
any other bird