162 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



pale gray extending throughout the under parts 

 from the bill. In the distance, this lighter colour 

 might readily pass for white, and the bird be 

 mistaken for one of the whitethroats. If, how- 

 ever, the two are compared, the pure white of the 

 whitethroat becomes a very marked characteristic 

 of that bird. Moreover, not only is the garden- 

 warbler the larger, but its general bearing is alto- 

 gether different, and the head less shapely and 

 graceful than that of the whitethroat. It is a less 

 showy bird, but this lack of smartness is more 

 than compensated for by the sweetness of its song, 

 which is very real and melodious. The white- 

 throat may be met with anywhere and every- 

 where, but the garden warbler is none too com- 

 mon. Its song is not unlike that of the black- 

 cap ; but there is a difference, which the Rev. 

 W. Fowler thus aptly describes : ' The strain 

 of the blackcap is shorter, forming, in fact, one 

 lengthened phrase, " in sweetness long drawn 

 out," while the garden warbler will go on almost 

 continuously for many minutes together ; and 

 secondly, the blackcap's music is played upon a 

 mellower instrument.' 



The blackcap can hardly be mistaken for any 

 other bird, although I have heard it stated that a 

 great similarity exists between it and the coal 

 tit. Its manner and demeanour, to say nothing 

 of its exquisite song, are very different from 

 those of the last-named. It is also larger, and 

 destitute of the white markings on the wing, 



