BLACKCAP WARBLER. 8? 



Many prefer the song of the Thrush to that of the 

 Blackbird ; and just the same taste probably leads them 

 to prefer the song of the Nightingale to that of the 

 Blackcap. But for my own part, the- Blackbird's and 

 the Blackcap's songs touch my heart more than any 

 other bird music I have ever heard. The black cap of 

 the male makes him conspicuous enough for observation. 

 The head of the female is brown, and she is said to be 

 larger than the male a very unusual circumstance in 

 birds of this family. 



The Blackcap usually arrives about the middle or end 

 of April, and leaves us again in September ; it ceases to 

 sing about the first week in July. It has, strangely 

 enough, sometimes been shot in winter; and Mr. 

 Thompson mentions such instances of its occurrence 

 near Raheny, Co. Dublin, near Clonmel, and also in the 

 counties of Cork and Galway at this season. 



The food of the Blackcap consists early in the year of 

 insects and caterpillars ; in July, however, it develops a 

 taste for raspberries, and encourages its young in 

 seeking similar dainties ; for it is probably the greatest 

 berry-eater of all our Warblers. But who would grudge 

 a few raspberries in return for such music as it has to 

 give ? The nest is generally placed in some low bush, 

 sometimes in the holly, and at times among briars and 

 brambles. The eggs, from four to six in number, are 

 variously coloured, but usually whitish, with brown and 

 black spots. The cock assists the hen in the task of 

 incubation. 



I hope that many of my readers may hear the 

 delightful song of the Blackcap, " full, sweet, deep, 

 loud, and wild," as Gilbert White describes it ; and I 



