WARBLERS, ACCENTORS, ETC. 



383 



The 

 Blackcap. 



ripe berries wlien procuraljle must not Ijc 

 forgotten. Tlie Lesser Wliilelliroal is equally 

 interesling, eitlier for exhibition or as a pet, 

 tliougli in competition, lilce the greater AVhite- 

 throat, it has not much chance against rarer 

 and more gorgeously coloured Warblers, and 

 hence our citing its proper place as in a class 

 for the more common small insectivorous 

 birds. 



The Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla (Mcicg.). like 

 the Nightingale, sometimes arrives in England 

 from early in April up to 

 the middle or even end of that 

 month. It is pretty generally 

 distributed over England and Wales, becoming 

 rarer in Scotland, though well distributed on 

 the Borders and in Cumberland. It leaves us 

 in August or September, although some few 

 stragglers apparently spend the winlcr with 

 us at times. The male Blackcaps usually 

 precede the females in arrival, and also, like 

 the Nightingale, they can be found in the 

 same local spots year after year. The beak 

 is shaped similarly to the Nightingale's, its 

 colour dark horn-brown, paler beneath, the 

 edges yellowish-grey, the inside of the mouth 

 bluish-grey. Its distinguishing characteristic 

 is a jet-black cap or hood on the crown of its 

 head, which has earned for it in Germany the 

 name of the " Monk." The cheeks and nape 

 of the neck are slatish-grey ; the back and wing- 

 coverts are ash-grey, shaded with olive-brown ; 

 the pinions and tail are dark brown, edged with 

 the same colour as the back ; the breast is light 

 slatish-grey, paler towards the throat and 

 abdomen. The female differs from her mate, in- 

 asmuch as she is a trifle hirgcr, while the cap on 

 the head is a chocolale-brown, the other parts 

 of the body being slightly tinged with brown. 

 The song of the Blackcap is so agreeable, 

 first a few notes sounding as if at a distance, 

 then bursting into beautiful sustained melody, 

 that it is called the '" Mock Nightingale." Its 

 tones are loud, yet sweet, and especially flute- 

 like, the fullness of the song being remarkable 

 in a bird smaller even than the Nightingale. 

 The average length of the bird is about 5| 

 inches. The Blackcap nests in some secluded 

 copse, undergrowth, or orchard ; it is shy and 

 rather restless ; a slight noise or the intrusion of 

 a stranger will silence its song in a moment, 

 and it will take itself off to a more secluded 

 spot so quietly that its flight is quite unob- 

 served. While breeding, when wild, it is also 

 somewhat pugnacious, and will hardly ever 

 breed very near to another pair. Its nest is 

 found amongst honeysuckle, nettles, over- 

 growing brambles, low hedges, or small bushes, 

 generally near the ground, but never on it ; 

 the bird has been known to build in gooseberry 



and currant bushes. The nest is lightly built 

 of thin bents of dry grass and fibrous roots, 

 with sometimes a little moss and scantily lined 

 with horse-hair. The eggs are usually five in 

 number, and there is great variation in their 

 colour and markings, but they are generally 

 of a dull-while, lightly tinged with green, 

 mottled with grey and light brown, mingled 

 with a few spots of darker brown. We have 

 sets of eggs in our collection with a decided 

 grey-brown ground colour, faintly clouded here 

 and there with a darker patch ; others of a 

 rich salmon pink ground colour, spoiled and 

 streaked with rich red, faintly tinged with 

 brown, and also have various other shades, 

 showing the variation that exists. The male 

 Blackcap assists the hen in the duties of incu- 

 lcation, and they sit very closely. The jilumage 

 of the young is very similar to that of the adult 

 female, the distinctive features of the males 

 not showing until after the first moult. 



The young can be successfully hand-reared 

 on the same food as young Nightingales, and 

 the adult bird can be fed and treated in the 

 same way as that bird, but let a liberal supply 

 of ripe fruit at all seasons be included in the 

 bill of fare for the Blackcap. In its wild state 

 it is very partial to elderberries, currants, rasp- 

 berries, and green figs. In the early part of 

 the season caterpillars, spiders, flies, and other 

 insects form its chief food, so that these, when 

 procuraljle, should be added to the menu. The 

 Blackcap is very fond of bathing. It should 

 have a cage simflar to that of a Nightingale, 

 and is not a difficult bird to keep. It is a 

 charming pet, being a lusty songster in captivity 

 without any harshness. At large exhiliitions 

 this bird and the Nightingale usually have a 

 class allotted to them, so that they compete 

 together on common ground. 



The exhibition properties of a Blackcap are 

 good size and colour, cap large jet black, with 

 a nice gloss ; steadiness ; perfect plumage, 

 feet, and toes. The show cage recommended 

 for the Nightingale, but one size smaller, answers 

 well for Blackcaps. They ai-e also quite sociable 

 inmates of a group aviary of small insectivorous 

 birds ; but the males do not appear to sing 

 so freely under such conditions as they do in a 

 cage. 



The Garden Warbler, Sylvia hortensis (Bech.), 



is another summer visitor, though it does not 



arrive until the beginning 



wTrb^er**^" °^ ^^""V ''»"d ^^'Paits'^ again 



in August or September. In 

 colour, the whole of the upper part of the body 

 is olive-brown ; the wings and tail darker 

 brown, slightly edged with lighter brown; 

 above the eye is a faint streak of bufl" ; the 

 under parts are grey, nmch paler on the abdo- 



