Warblers. 73 



fore should have a green baize roof to it, and as he has 

 a habit of pecking at the wires, they should be of 

 unpainted tin, or japanned, or lacquered, so as to pre- 

 vent his getting any injurious morsels from them. He 

 is very fond of bathing, but the bath must not be left 

 in the cage, and the vessels in which his food is placed 

 should be hung outside, or partially covered, so as to 

 prevent his scattering it about and wasting it, which 

 he will often do. 



The Nightingale's diet will suit the Blackcap well, 

 or a paste made of barley-meal, white bread, and 

 carrot, pounded up together. He must have ants' 

 eggs, mealworms, and other insects, crushed hemp- 

 seed occasionally, and a constant supply of ripe fruit, 

 elderberries, currants, raspberries, cherries, apples, and 

 pears in their season. A friend of mine, who has kept 

 these birds, tells me they are very capricious about 

 their food, one day eating nothing but pudding, another 

 nothing but potato, or bread, or German paste. The 

 Blackcap is subject to most of the ailments of the 

 Nightingale. A spider, a rusty nail in the water, and 

 a little boiled milk sometimes, will be good for him, 

 and he must be kept warm and preserved from sudden 

 changes of temperature. For consumption, to which 

 the Blackcap is subject, Bechstein recommends a sup- 

 ply of watercresses. He suffers from the migratory 

 fever in the same way as the Nightingale. 



The French call the Blackcap fauvette a tete noir ; 



