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NO doubt those who never hear the song of the Nightingale are denied a
special privilege. Keats' exquisite verses give some notion of it, and
William Drummond, another English poet, has sung sweetly of the bird best
known to fame. "Singer of the night" is the literal translation of its
scientific name, although during some weeks after its return from its
winter quarters in the interior of Africa it exercises its remarkable vocal
powers at all hours of the day and night. According to Newton, it is justly
celebrated beyond all others by European writers for the power of song. The
song itself is indiscribable, though numerous attempts, from the time of
Aristophanes to the present, have been made to express in syllables the
sound of its many notes; and its effects on those who hear it is described
as being almost as varied as are its tones. To some they suggest
melancholy; and many poets, referring to the bird in the feminine gender,
which cannot sing at all, have described it as "leaning its breast against
a thorn and pouring forth its melody in anguish." Only the male bird sings.
The poetical adoption of the female as the singer, however, is accepted as
impregnable, as is the position of Jenny Lind as the "Swedish Nightingale."
Newton says there is no reason to suppose that the cause and intent of the
Nightingales' song, unsurpassed though it be, differ in any respect from
those of other birds' songs; that sadness is the least impelling sentiment
that can be properly assigned for his apparently melancholy music. It may
in fact be an expression of joy such as we fancy we interpret in the songs
of many other birds. The poem, however, which we print on another page,
written by an old English poet, best represents our own idea of the
Nightingale's matchless improvisation, as some call it. It may be that it
is always the same song, yet those who have often listened to it assert
that it is never precisely the same, that additional notes are introduced
and the song at times extended.
The Nightingale is usually regarded as an English bird, and it is abundant
in many parts of the midland, eastern, and western counties of England, and
the woods, coppices, and gardens ring with its thrilling song. It is also
found, however, in large numbers in Spain and Portugal and occurs in
Austria, upper Hungary, Persia, Arabia, and Africa, where it is supposed to
spend its winters.
The markings of the male and female are so nearly the same as to render the
sexes almost indistinguishable.
They cannot endure captivity, nine-tenths of those caught dying within a
month. Occasionally a pair have lived, where they were brought up by hand,
and have seemed contented, singing the song of sadness or of joy.
The nest of the Nightingale is of a rather uncommon kind, being placed on
or near the ground, the outworks consisting of a great number of dead
leaves ingeniously put together. It has a deep, cup-like hollow, neatly
lined with fibrous roots, but the whole is so loosely constructed that a
very slight touch disturbs its beautiful arrangement. There are laid from
four to six eggs of a deep olive color.
Towards the end of summer the Nightingale disappears from England, and as
but little has been observed of its habits in its winter retreats, which
are assumed to be in the interior of Africa, little is known concerning
them.
It must be a wonderful song indeed that could inspire the muse of great
poets as has that of the Nightingale.
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