The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-09-02

as if 1t had something to do with roy
 alty or murder, which are the only
 things that really interest the great
 British public. A very moderate gift
 of observation, however, suflices to dis
 tinguish the nightingale song from any
 other, Apart from Its einging In the dark-it sings very often in the day time-the manner is quite peculiar. The
 voice Is not so rich as that of some
 of the larger song birds, but very full, round, and clearer than any--a ringing voice without the least shrillness, and of great compass.
 The execution is faultless; wide in- tervals, trills, and shakes are thrown
 off with a brilliancy and perfection of
 tone unequalled by all other songsters.
 A delicious low gurgling shake, in par tieular, Is most characteristic, But
 what chiefly sets the nightingale apart
 is that it sings continuously, yet with a eopious variety of phrase; whereas
 other birds either sing in snatches, like
 the blackblrd and the thrush, or else monotonousQy, like the lark and the ca
 nary. The nightingale often sings in snatches, too, particularly in the day
 time; but when in gooG song and un-
 disturbed it will pour forth contin- uous stream of melody made up of per- haps ad oxen distinct phrases uttered one after another, and then repeated,
 but in constantly changing order
 Not all these phrases are peculiar to the bird, but the combination is quite unmistakable; and it gives an effect of fulness and finish to the song unap- preached by any other warbler. I fancy the rest are jealous, after the manner of singers. At any rate, I have knewn this to happen. A pair of nightingales built their nest and had laid three eggs, when they were driv- en off by blackbirds who built their own nest on the top of the other, eggs and all. Was this professional jeal- ousy or revenge for being disturbed O nights?
 Poets have often spoken of the night ingale's song as a lullaby" Strange idea! The famous auctioneer's phrase, "din of the nightingales," better des- cribes the bold, clear, ringing strain And why do they call the bird melon choly'' and "complaining" It is the poet that complains, not the nightin- gale. His is joyous song of court ship and the honeymoon; for when the eggs are matched and the cares of father are upon him he sings no more,
 but subsidies into a croak-as well he may, poor fellow. No, not a lullaby, but serenade if you like; or an au- bade, as the case may be. My nightin- gale has been singing regularly this June towards dawn, but not so much
 late at night, though that is a favorite
 time with them. I think they choose these hours in order to have the field
 to themselves undisturbed by inferior performers, for notice that mine drops
 off as soon as the other birds begin their noise. He has about an hour to himself without a sound; then at 3 o'clock or so the rocks make a start for their feeding-ground, cawing as they pass overhead. Very soon the
 cuckoo pipes up; and he has been in wonderful song this year, by the by, like all the other birds. After the cuc- koo the young starlings-greediest of feathered things-wake up and begin crying for breakfast; the blackbird filings out a few phrases before start ing to forage; various small birds twit- ter to the growing dawn; and, lastly. the lazy sparrows, who do not stir a feather until half-past three or four, resume that tremendous jabber of gos- sip with which they always begin and end the day. By this time our patric- ian singer has had enough of the ple- beian uproan and retires disdainfully from the platform. The nightingale is not shy, but proud. He likes an au- dience and human society reasonably near, but he shrinks from personal con- tact and hates to be disturbed. So he prefers the untrodden thicket to a trim shrubbery, nor will any cajoling persuade him to alter his mind.-St. James Gazette.