Teoo-oo, teoo-oo, teoo-oo, teoo-oo,
Shpe, teoo-oo, tokooa.
Then it becomes more animated:
Teo, teo, teo, teo, teo,
Koo-oo-teoo, koo-oo-teoo, koo-oo-teoo, koo-oo-teoo, [[246]]
Tskoo-o, tskoo-o, tskoo-o, tskoo-o,
Tsee-ee, tsee-ee, tsee-ee, tsee-ee, tsee-ee, tsee-ee.
Here the phrasing becomes more marked, the melody quicker:
Dlo, dlo, dlo, dlo, dlo, dlo,
Koo-e-oo, trrrrrrritz!
Lu-lu-lu, le-le-le-le, lee-lee-lee-lee.
Enthusiasm then bursts all bounds and the bird indulges in the most brilliant roulades; but our harsh alphabet is powerless to show the sounds that come from this wonderful throat.
“ ‘The nightingale,’ says Buffon, ‘begins with a timid prelude in weak and almost wavering tones, as if wishing to try its instrument and win the attention of those within hearing; but presently, gaining assurance, it gradually becomes animated and displays all the resources of its incomparable organ. Bursts of melody, lively volleys of rippling song in which clearness is equaled only by volubility, low and voiceless murmurs inaudible to the listener, but calculated to increase the brilliance of the notes about to be heard, vivid and rapid trills that sweep the gamut and are articulated with force and even with a certain hardness of effect not unpleasing to the ear, plaintive cadences softly modulated, notes struck without art but full of soul, enchanting and poignant chords that seem to come from the very heart and to convey a touching significance—such are the impassioned strains by which, in a tongue doubtless full of sentiment, this natural songster [[247]]appears to try to charm its mate or, rather, to contend before her with his jealous rivals for the prize of supreme excellence in song.’
“I have seen unfeeling barbarians cut short this pretty romance with a shot from a gun. They say that half a dozen nightingales make an excellent broiled dish. Horrors! What a frightful brute is man when he thinks of nothing but his stomach!
“The nightingale builds its nest in bushes and rather near the ground, sometimes even among the roots. Coarse grasses and oak leaves are used for the outside, tufts of fleece and horsehair for the inside. The female lays five dark-green eggs.
