Virginian NIGHTINGALE, in ornithology, the common, but improper, name of a bird of the gros-beaked kind, called by authors the cocotbraustes Indica cristata.
It is a little smaller than our blackbird; it has a black ring surrounding the eyes and nostrils; the beak is very large and thick, but not altogether so large as in the common gros-beak; and its head is ornamented with a very high and beautiful crest, which it moves about very frequently; it is all over of a very fine and lively red, but paler on the head and tail than elsewhere; it is brought to us from Virginia, and is much valued in England for its beauty and delicate manner of singing; it is very fond of almonds and the like fruits.