Nightingale

a small, reddish-brown, thrush-like bird of the Old World, celebrated for the sweetness of its song. In England it is a modest, shy bird, haunting rich woods and thickets. It lives chiefly on insects, especially the larvae of ants. Like most insect-eating song birds, it is migratory, ranging from northern Europe to northern Africa. It appears in England in April but does not visit Wales, Ireland, or Scotland. The nest is built of grass and leaves, preferably near running water. The eggs, four to five in number, are olive green in color. The male is the singer. While the female is nesting, especially in the evening, he soars aloft pouring out a rich burden of song, as if too happy to contain his secret. When the young are hatched, he stops singing and busies himself hunting insects to fill open mouths. The male is a favorite cage bird. The nightingale is celebrated in literature. It is the Philomela of the poets. The name has been extended to a number of somewhat similar birds, including the bulbul of the Orient and one or more finches of our Southern States. See Philomela