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FAMILY: OLD WORLD FLYCATCHERS & CHATS |
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Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia)
Its “dress” is rather modest: it is a small birdie similar to the sparrow, but with a longer tail. The nightingale nests in bushes, on the ground. It builds its nest of dry leaves, straws, and thin branches, with a lining made of fine last year's blades and wool. Nightingale sings day and night, but especially inspiredly — in the morning and evening dusk. Its song is a set of repeated whistles, clickings, and smacking sounds. In nightingale’s singing one can distinguish separate parts that can amount to 12 (but more usually 5-6). These parts compose a stanza. The beginning of a stanza can be recognized by a preceding pause and a characteristic part that begins every stanza. The voice of the nightingale is loud, especially in night’s calm, when other birds have been asleep already. If you have stopped for overnight rest in the vicinity of a nightingale’s nest — you may have hard time falling asleep. But, of course, it is only males that behave so. The voice of females is quite decent: gentle single whistles. (Saxicola rubetra)
In summer on a meadow, we may see a small nice birdie on a high blade or bush. As we approach, it begins to shake the tail and makes a sound — "chat-chat". This is why it is called whinchat. The whinchat is smaller than the sparrow in size, and has rather long legs. Its back is reddish-brown with dark spots; the breast is pinkish; the belly is light-grey; the eyebrows are white; the cheeks are dark. The female builds its nest on the ground in the thick of grass. To notice it from above is impossible. |
