Thanks to David Morley for flagging this up - fascinating research on arguably our most iconic (although not necessarily best, or best-known*) songbird, combined with a bit of Cavalier poetry. We rarely get Nightingales in my part of the world, even passing through, so seeing or, more likely, hearing one, is always a red letter day.
I've probably mentioned before that I like the fact that in Spain, where they're still much easier to find, their name is Ruisenor - literally, "the noisy man". They really can be astonishingly loud, especially in the middle of the night.
* I'd rank Blackbird, Blackcap and Garden Warbler above them, for starters, although there's no beating the Nightingale for sheer resonance.
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