Blackcap and Garden- Warbler. 53 



notes or short phrases, like that of the Song- 

 thrush, or the Chiff-chaff. But they differ in two 

 points : the strain of the Blackcap is shorter, 

 forming in fact one lengthened phrase " in sweet- 

 ness 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 most 

 gifted Blackcaps for birds of the same species 

 differ considerably in their power of song excel 

 all other birds in the soft quality of their tone, 

 just as a really good boy's voice, though less 

 brilliant and resonant, excels all women's voices 

 in softness and sweetness. So far as I have been 

 able to observe, the Blackcap's voice is almost 

 entirely wanting in that power of producing the 

 harmonics of a note which gives a musical sound 

 its brilliant quality ; but this very want is what 

 produces its unrivalled mellowness. 



The other two members of our first group (we 

 are still in genus Sylvia] are the two White- 

 throats, greater and lesser, and we have not far 

 to go to find them. They arrive just at the 

 beginning of our Easter Term, but never come 



