Last week we talked about a couple of birds while looking at the real life version of Tweety and the Roadrunner. Today we are going to look at another bird but I don’t know any famous cartoon characters that were based off of the Nightingale. Don’t get me wrong, I know they have some songs named after them and even a sonnet but no cartoon character. Perhaps we should make one that can be friends with Tweety and help him defeat that mean ol’ puddy tat. If we are going to create a new cartoon character, I guess we should learn more about the real life subject, right?
The Nightingale is a small bird that can be found in Europe and southwest Asia. It is often mistaken for another famous bird, the European Robin, as they look awfully similar to the female Robins. The Nightingale tends to be larger than the Robin and is usually a boring old brown colour, except for the reddish tail. At least they have some colour to pretty them up. These particular birds are known to travel far distances each year to reach their breeding grounds or overwintering areas. They typically breed in the European and Asian forests while spending the chilly winter months in southern Africa. I bet they would have enough frequent flyer miles to migrate to North America.
So what exactly is a Nightingale? Well obviously it is a bird but what does their name mean? Believe it or not these birds were apparently named over 1000 years ago. The term “Nightingale” simply means “night songstress”. I suppose we don’t have to be a genius to figure out why they called them that. Obviously, these birds love to sing at night. I personally prefer singing in the shower or the truck. It is believed that the single males still looking for their mate will sing throughout the night to attract that special partner. So basically they are serenading the lovely females. Who would have known that Nightingale’s are so romantic.
Don’t worry you get your chance to hear the beautiful song from the Nightingale by watching the short video clip below. Enjoy and have a great day!
