1883-84.] Edinburgh Naturalists' Field Club. 145 



The last three are the least common — the two latter, indeed, being 

 rarce aves. 



ISTotwithstanding many false rumours to the contrary, that prince 

 of songsters, the jSTightingale, does not visit Scotland ; but, as com- 

 pensation for the loss, we have the Blackcap, whose melody is said, 

 by those whose good fortune it is to have heard both birds, to be 

 little inferior in sweetness and flexibility. The latter cannot be 

 reckoned a common species anywhere in Scotland, although its range 

 is extensive, having been found nesting in Glen Urquhart, Inverness- 

 shire; and, according to ornithological works, specimens have been 

 procured as far north as Caithness and Orkney. The examples 

 shown here were shot at Kirkhill, on the banks of the South Esk, 

 near Arniston, — where, indeed, most of the others were obtained as 

 well. Both sides of the river at that point are lined with rows of 

 very large trees, and close to the water's edge grow an abundance of 

 small scrubby bushes and other tangled vegetation, which render the 

 locality a favourite breeding-ground of Warblers — so much so, that 

 within a radius of half a mile six of the species already named are to 

 be seen in the proper season. The season, without being too exact 

 as to a week or so, may be said to commence about the middle of 

 April and end with the last days of September — although the various 

 species do not necessarily arrive together, some being much later in 

 putting in an appearance than others ; and a certain allowance must of 

 course be made for favourable and unfavourable weather, Avhich may 

 either hasten or retard their arrival. The male, as the name implies, 

 has a black cap on his head, which, quoting the authority of Dr 

 Bechstein, has given rise to the sobriquet of " Monk," applied to it 

 in Germany, from a fancied resemblance to the cowl of a member of 

 that fraternity — this distinctive mark precluding the possibility of 

 its being mistaken for the female, which, in lieu of the black hood, 

 has one of reddish brown. As must be evident to any one who' has 

 tried the experiment, it is next to impossible to convey an adequate 

 idea in writing of the song of any particular bird, ancl it is only by 

 actual listening that a true knowledge can be acquired. Again, from 

 the habits of imitation previously touched on, it is sometimes a 

 matter of no small difficulty, particularly when the bird is not visible, 

 to discriminate between one species of Warbler and another, even 

 although we may have come to the decision that the singer is assur- 

 edly only a mocking-bird after all. There is a clear rich tone, 

 however, about the lay of the Blackcap, that stamps it at once as of 

 superior merit to that of its fellows, being more sustained throughout, 

 and not so subject to the constant breaks and harsh interjections that 

 mar the song of the Sedge-Warbler. The nest, which is a pretty 

 structure, made of toughish grass and other fibrous material, is 

 usually placed in a thick bush or garden-hedge, a few feet above the 

 ground. If unobserved, the bird sits very close; but when discovered 



