BLACKCAP. 71 



" occasionally " before " remain." In the East Riding it 

 is fairly distributed in suitable places, woods, copses, and 

 gardens, where its loud song is to be heard all day long, 

 and in the autumn it comes to feed on the soft fruits. In 

 the North Riding it is a regular, but cannot be described as 

 a very numerous, visitant. J. Hogg (Zool. 1845, p. 1058), 

 remarked that "it is the best and most melodious of our 

 northern songsters, as the Nightingale is unknown here 

 [Cleveland] ; it is not infrequent in the gardens and plantations 

 where it nidificates." 



During the migration periods it has been reported on 

 several occasions at the light stations on the coast ; it occurs 

 pretty regularly at Spurn in spring, and is not uncommon 

 in September and early in October amongst the crowds of 

 warblers then passing southward. The information supplied 

 to the British Association Migration Committee shows that 

 there was a " rush " on 3rd September 1881, and several 

 were noticed at Redcar on the 22nd ; one was killed at Spurn 

 on igth October 1886, whilst Mr. W. Eagle Clarke shot a 

 female at Kilnsea as late as 28th October, 1880. 



The late P. Inchbald (Zool. 1850, p. 2849), noted the 

 powers of mimicry possessed by this bird, which he heard 

 giving accurate imitations of the alarm notes of the Blackbird 

 and Robin ; and Mr. E. L. Gill (in litt.} informs me he has 

 heard it mimicing the Garden Warbler (op. cit. 1901, p. 450). 



The scarce pink variety of the Blackcap's egg has occasion- 

 ally been taken in Yorkshire ; my collection contains a clutch 

 of four, found near Whitby, in the " sixties," and formerly 

 in the possession of Mr. J. Braim ; a similar clutch was reported 

 on i8th May 1894, at Boston Spa, by Mr. Stevens. In June 

 1876, a nest was found suspended after the manner of a 

 Goldcrest's, in a fir tree near Beverley (op. cit. 1877, p. 258). 



The local names are : Peggy in the Barnsley district ; 

 Black-capped Peggy near Doncaster ; and Coal Hoodie in 

 the North Riding (Swainson). At Wilsderi the nest is called 

 Straw small. 



