24 THE BLACKCAP 



strange to say, many persons who have lived all their lives in the 

 country and who take much interest in its pleasant sights and 

 sounds, habitually confound it with the song of one or other of 

 these birds, not knowing to whom they are indebted for one of the 

 principal charms of their gardens. The Blackcap, like several 

 other of the migratory warblers, returns again and again to its old 

 haunts. For six successive years it has been known to build its 

 nest in a bramble which hung down from a rock in a public garden ; 

 and for even a longer period my own garden has been annually 

 visited by a pair who, from unfailingly resorting to the same bushes, 

 must, I have httle doubt, be the same pair, though I cannot say 

 that I have found or even searched for their nest. On its first 

 arrival in April, the Blackcap is in the habit of what bird-fanciers 

 call ' recording ' — that is, practising over its song in a low tone. 

 During this season of rehearsal it does not care to be seen, but 

 hides away in a thick bush. It is nevertheless by no means shy 

 of being heard, as it will allow the listener to approach within a few 

 yards of its hiding-place without stopping its song, and if disturbed 

 will remove to a very little distance and recommence. After a few 

 days it acquires its full powers of voice. 



Its song is now remarkable among the full choir for sweetness, 

 loudness, and long continuance. Its food at this time consists of 

 aphides, caterpillars, and other small insects which infest roses 

 and fruit-trees ; it rarely captures flies on the wing or descends 

 to feed on the ground. In June it begins to sing shorter strains, 

 but with no diminished power. It may then be observed flying 

 from branch to branch of an apple-tree, resting for a few seconds 

 only in the same spot, and busily occupied in collecting grubs or 

 aphides, then indulging in a short strain. In July, when the rasp- 

 berries ripen, the Blackcap becomes chary of its song, and introduces 

 its young brood to the choicest and juiciest fruit ; in their attentions 

 to which both old and young birds are exceedingly pertinacious, 

 holding scarecrows in extreme contempt, and heeding clapping 

 of hands or the discharge of a gun as little. The young of the first 

 year resemble the adult female in having a chocolate-coloured crown. 

 The song of the Blackcap may be heard occasionally late in the 

 summer ; in September or October both old and young take their 

 departure, and the Redbreast is left without a rival to assert his 

 superiority as a warbler, until the return of spring. The nest is 

 usually placed in a hedge or low bush, a few feet from the ground, 

 and is constructed of bents, and lined with fibrous roots and hair. 

 The male bird assists the female in performing the office of incuba- 

 tion, and is said to relieve the monotony of his occupation by singing, 

 thus often betraying a well-concealed nest. 



