37 



CHAPTER III 



WARBLERS, CONTINUED. BLACKCAP, GARDEN WARBLER, 

 WHITE-THROAT, AND LESSER WHITE-THROAT. 



nnHE BLACKCAP {Sylvia atricapilla), called by Macgil- 

 _|_ livray the i Black-capped Warbler,' is somewhat smaller 

 in size than the Nightingale, from which the male bird is 

 distinguished especially by a jet-black head, and the female 

 by the dark tint of the reddish brown one. We have here 

 another of the summer Warblers, a little greyish, or yellow- 

 ish brown bird, elegant in shape, brisk and lively in its 

 motions. It arrives about the middle of April, or rather 

 sooner, according to the progress of the season. Selby says 

 it is never with us until the larch trees are visibly green. 

 As with the Nightingale, the males precede the females by 

 some days. Woods, plantations, thick hedges, orchards, and 

 gardens, are the chief haunts of the bird, which is shy and 

 timid. The female is very cautious in selecting a nesting- 

 place, sometimes commencing to build in two or three dif- 

 ferent places, before finally settling down in one spot. The 

 nest is usually fixed in a bush, about two or three feet 

 from the ground ; it is constructed of bents and fine 

 herbage, lined with fibrous roots, mixed with hair. The 

 eggs are generally five in number, of a pale greenish white, 

 mottled with light brown and ash colour, with a few spots 

 and streaks of dark brown. This species is pretty generally 

 distributed through England, being rare towards the north ; 

 it has not been met with in Scotland. British naturalists 

 generally agree in giving to this bird the second place in the 

 scale of songsters ; it is sometimes called ' the Mock Night- 

 ingale.' Monk, and Moor, are common terms for it among 

 the Germans. Buifon calls it a Fauvet ; and Neville Wood, 

 after stating that the best time to observe its habits and ap- 

 pearance is when the currants and raspberries are ripe, for it 



