The Birds of Pembrokeshire. yy 
making more impression on my hands than they did fifty 
years before.” 
BLACKCAP, Sylvia atricapilla—A summer visitor, far from com- 
mon. We could never detect this beautiful songster at Stone 
Hall until the small fruit began to ripen in the kitchen-garden. 
Writing of it in his neighbourhood Mr. Dix says, “ First heard on 
12th April ; three or four pairs bred in the plantations near, but 
it is not numerous.” In Mr. Tracy’s list, which refers chiefly to 
the birds observed in the south of the county, the Blackcap is 
stated to be common. 
GARDEN WARBLER, Sylvia hortensis.—This is another of the 
small summer visitors, which is common in Cardiganshire, and 
seems to avoid our county. We have never seen it, although 
from where he wrote, on the borders of Cardiganshire, Mr. Dix 
was able to report of it ‘about as numerous as, and seen about a 
week after, the Blackcap.” In the south of the county Mr. 
Tracy obtained a Garden Warbler in September, 1849, and 
states that it was the only one he ever saw. It passed into the 
collection of Lord Cawdor, at Stackpole. 
GOLDCREST, Regulus cristatus.—A common resident, receiving 
accessions to its numbers in the winter from northern countries. 
Mr. Dix saw a flock of about fifty in a plantation on 6th Novem- 
ber. Goldcrests were always numerous in the larch plantations 
at Stone Hall, where we came across numbers of their beautiful 
nests. One we found close to the house was entirely lined with 
the feathers of the Green Woodpecker. ‘There was a nest of 
these birds in an adjoining sycamore tree. We have had several 
bright plumaged male Goldcrests sent to us by friends for Fire- 
crests. Although the Firecrest is extremely likely to occur zz 
the winter-time in Pembrokeshire, we have not yet either seen or 
heard of a county specimen. It may be useful to remark that 
the Firecrest is always to be easily distinguished from the Gold- 
crest by the white line above the eye. 
