BLACK-CAPPED WARBLER. 341 



and rounded ; the quills eighteen ; the primaries rounded, 

 excepting the first, which is very small and narrow, scarcely 

 a third of the length of the second, which is shorter than the 

 fifth, the third longest, and the fourth almost as long ; the 

 secondaries rounded and rather slender. The tail straight, 

 slightly rounded, rather long, its feathers rather narrow and 

 rounded. 



The bill is brownish-black above, paler beneath, its edges 

 yellowish-grey, the lower mandible greyish -blue ; the inside of 

 the mouth is bluish-grey ; the iris brown. The feet greyish- 

 blue, the toes tinged with green beneath, the claws wood-brown. 

 The upper part of the head is black, the cheeks and hind part 

 and sides of the neck ash-grey ; the rest of the upper parts 

 light yellowish-grey ; the quills greyish-brown, their outer 

 edges pale yellowish-brown ; the tail similar. The lower parts 

 are ash-grey, fading posteriorly into pale yellowish-grey. 



Length to end of tail 6jr> inches; extent of wings 9j ; bill 

 along the ridge j%, along the edge of lower mandible j% ; wing 

 from flexure 3^;^ ; tail 2^ ; tarsus || ; hind-toe y\, its claw 

 j| ; second toe y| ; its claw l\j ; third toe /j, its claw ^i ; 

 fourth toe y|, its claw -/i. 



Female. — The female scarcely differs from the male in size, 

 and is similar in colour, only that the upper part of the head is 

 light reddish-brown. 



Length to end of tail C^-g inches ; extent of wings 9^. 



Habits. — My first acquaintance with the Blackcap took 

 place on the 19th May 1831, M-hen, having accompanied two 

 friends to the garden of Dean House, near Edinburgh, in quest 

 of young Rooks, I heard a delightful warble among the bushes. 

 On asking the gardener if he thought it was that of a Robin, 

 he said he thought it was a Mavis. I conceived it to be dif- 

 ferent from either, and my friends presently went in search of 

 the bird, which was shot by one of them, Mr Houston. Since 

 then I have had opportunities of observing the habits of the 

 species in other parts of the country. Its song is in feet very 

 similar in some respects to those of both the Robin and Thrush, 



