324 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



They are laid about mid-May, and incubation takes rather 

 under a fortnight. Only one brood is, as a rule, produced 

 in a season. 



The song of this Warbler is of the highest order, and 

 we have heard more than one experienced naturalist 

 describe it as our finest songster, the Nightingale not 

 excepted ; and, so far as these two are concerned, we are 

 pei-sonally inclined to favour the Warbler's claim. 



THE BLACKCAP 



(Sylvia atricapilla). 

 Plate 124. 



The most obvious characteristic about this Warbler is 

 the 'cap' of glossy black in the cock, and rufous brown 

 in the hen. A brown cap is visible on the young birds 

 before they leave the nest, and the difference between the 

 sexes in this respect becomes apparent in the first 

 autumn. Apart from the cap, the species is very similar 

 to the Garden- Warbler, and is of almost the same size. 



The Blackcap is also a summer visitor to the British 

 Isles, except that a few occasionally pass the winter with 

 us. Its arrival in spring is rather earlier than that of 

 the preceding species. 



The range of the two within our area is very much the 

 same. In most localities both birds may be found, but 

 there is a tendency for particular spots to be given up 

 more or less completely to one or the other. The Black- 

 cap, however, is the more local of the two. 



The general habits of the two are alike, and the 

 Blackcap's song is at least equal in merit to that of 

 the Garden- Warbler. The nesting habits are also much 



