The Heart of the Valley would die en route the following year. Her offspring also migrated though five of them also died but the one raised by the dunnocks survived. The mother dunnock died the following winter during a cold spell and was eaten by a fox. The surviving male dunnock mated the following year and had six offspring. The story ends with the writer taking a walk in the valley. The author once narrowly missed hitting a bird whilst driving to a railway station. On the train journey he imagined what might have happened if he hit the bird and it became the starting
Common nightingale Common nightingale The common nightingale or simply nightingale ("Luscinia megarhynchos"), also known as rufous nightingale, is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. "Nightingale" is derived from "night", and the Old English "galan", "to sing". The genus name "Luscinia" is Latin for "nightingale" and "megarhynchos" is from Ancient Greek "megas", "great" and "rhunkhos" "bill". The common nightingale is