THE BLACKCAP. 69 



Blackcaps having remained with us throughout the 

 winter ; and this has been noticed as particularly 

 the case in Ireland. It is rather singular that 

 Yarrell, in referring to the sister isle, says that the 

 Blackcap "has been taken once at least in the 

 North of Ireland," as if he were of opinion that its 

 occurrence there was doubtful, or at least extremely 

 rare. Thompson, in his excellent Natural History 

 of Ireland, vol. i. p. 183, notices the Blackcap as a 

 regular summer visitant there ; but he adds that it 

 must be considered very local. 



In Scotland it is considered rare, being confined 

 chiefly to the south; but since the observations 

 were published from which these remarks are 

 drawn, considerable changes seem to have taken 

 place in the local distribution of many species of 

 birds. This is notably the case with the Blackcap 

 and Garden Warbler, both of which have followed 

 cultivation, and are now found commonly in localities 

 where five-and-twenty years ago they were either 

 unknown or stated to be extremely rare. 



