344 SYLVIA ATRICAFILLA. 



isong, if divided into fragments, would suffice for half a score of 

 ordinary warblers, and is of surprising compass, and melodious 

 beyond description. None of the notes seem to resemble those 

 of the Blackbird, although they have been so represented ; nor 

 are they so plaintive as those of the Thrush. The song is de- 

 cidedly cheerful, but not merry like that of the Lark, and is 

 therefore not apt to cherish melancholy, but rather to encourage 

 hope, and induce a placid and contented frame of mind, in 

 which are combined admiration of the performer, and a kind 

 of affection towards it, which renders it almost impossible for 

 you to level your death-dealing tube at it. 



The nest of the Black-capped AVarbler is placed in the fork 

 of some shrub, and, according to Montagu, is " composed of 

 dried stalks, generally of goose-grass, put together with a little 

 wool, and sometimes a little green moss on the outside ; the in- 

 side is lined with fibrous roots, upon which are frequently 

 placed a few long hairs. The eggs are four or five in num- 

 ber/' of a very broad oval form, eight and a half twelfths long, 

 and seven-twelfths in breadth, greyish-white, faintly mottled 

 and freckled with purplish-grey, with some marks and streaks 

 of blackish-brown. 



This species is generally distributed in England, and is met 

 with sparingly in the southern districts of Scotland. In the 

 valley of the Clyde, especially about Hamilton, it is not un- 

 common. It is mentioned by Dr A. R. Young as occurring 

 near Paisley, in Kenfrewshire, is also stated to be found at 

 Stevenston, Ayrshire, and has been met with in the counties 

 of Perth and Forfar ; but it has not been observed farther 

 north. On the Continent it is dispersed in summer from Nor- 

 way and Lapland to Spain and Italy, and has been found in 

 Northern Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, Japan, and Java. 



Young. — When fledged the young resemble the adult, with 

 the exception of having the upper part of the head greyish- 

 brown. 



