SYLVIIN^. 



47 



THE BLACKCAP. 



Sylvia atricapilla (Linn^us). 



The principal arrival of this songster, hardly inferior to the 

 Nightingale, takes place in England about the middle of April ; 

 but occasionally some Blackcaps remain with us through the winter, 

 not only in the mild south-west, but even as far north as Berwick. 

 Even after a severe winter I once watched a male at a very short 

 distance, in Surrey, on March 5th, and Mr. Borrer has several times 

 heard its note as early as the ist of that month. The majority 

 depart for the south in September. Although somewhat local, the 

 Blackcap appears to be of tolerably general distribution throughout 

 England and Wales. In Scotland it becomes scarce as a breeder 

 beyond the Firths of Clyde and Forth, but its nest has been found 

 as far north as Ross shire ; while a pair attempted to establish 

 themselves in a garden in Unst, in the Shetlands, to which group, 

 as well as to the Orkneys, Caithness, Sutherland, and the Outer 

 Hebrides the bird is a visitor, chiefly on the autumn migration. In 

 the mild, moist climate of the south-west it remains until late in the 

 year, and Mr. R. Service captured one near Dumfries on November 

 29th, 1881 ; while Mr. H. Evans informs me that it is found in 

 Jura till December, and he believes it to be a resident. In Ireland 

 it occurs sparingly in summer, the nest having been found in the 

 counties of Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, 



