CURRUCA ATRICAPILLA. 305 



The Blackcap Warbler. 



(Motacilla Stricapilla.) Linn. (Curruca Atricapilla.) Beehst. 



" Hearing thee, and others of thy kind, 

 As full of gladness and as free of heaven ; 

 I, with my fate contented, will plod on, 

 And hope for higher raptures when life's day is done." 



— Wordstvorth. 



This shy, solitary bird is called the mock nightingale, for in 

 some respects it almost rivals that bird ; but, however varied 

 and melodious, it is no mock song — it is its own, and, though it 

 catches the notes of other birds and can imitate the nightingale, 

 it is no mere mocking singer ; for its sweet, cheerful song — so 

 richly blending those of other birds — is the spontaneous outcome 

 of its own happy nature revelling in its own capacity. It is the 

 singer of the family, oftener heard than seen, when sitting 

 safely ensconced amongst the leaves of some luxuriant elm, 

 beech, or plane tree in leafy June ; but he generally sings upon 

 some lofty twig on the top of it. If he spies an intruder he 

 instantly darts down and hides himself in the thickest brake — 

 for it also has the hiding instincts of the family — and, screened 

 by the thicket, will renew its song though one is standing close 

 beside it. It is loud, clear, and rapid, and so varied as to be often 

 mistaken for that of other birds, not confined to one or two notes 

 — like the blackbird — and in this respect is a veritable garden 

 nightingale. White, of Selborne, a close observer, says, "The 

 blackcap has a full, sweet, deep, loud, and wild pipe ; yet that 

 strain is of short continuance, and his motions desultory ; but 

 when sitting calmly and singing in earnest he pours forth very 

 sweet, but inward, melody, and expresses great variety of soft 

 and gentle modulations superior to any of our warblers — the 

 nightingale excepted." It is also a summer migrant, and is 

 occasionally seen in the large gardens and thickets about 

 St Andrews. It makes its nest in a close shrub or evergreen, 

 and amongst brambles or nettles ; is composed of fine roots and 

 dry grass, bits of thread, and wool, lined with finer grass and 

 some hair. Though slightly constructed it is strong and com- 

 pact, and in this differs from the garden warbler's. The eggs 

 are four or five, usually yellowish-grey, faintly mottled with 



