THE BLACK-CAP. 63 



they make their appearance, the male selects his 

 mate, and looks about for a suitable place in 

 which to build the nest. Having found a spot 

 which pleases him, he appears to announce it to 

 the female, by one of his sweetest and tenderest 

 songs. The place chosen, is usually in the 

 small bushes of eglantine, or hawthorn, or among 

 the branches of the woodbine. The nest is 

 slightly made of the dried stems and curled roots 

 of grass, with a little hair, bound together with 

 the cotton of plants. The eggs, five in number, 

 are of a reddish-brown colour, with spots of deep 

 morone. The black-cap is a bird of a most amia- 

 ble and affectionate temper : not only does he 

 most assiduously share in the labours of the hen- 

 bird in a state of freedom, but when taken cap- 

 tive with his family, he continues to feed the 

 young ones and the female ; even forcing the 

 latter to eat, when the misery she experiences 

 from her loss of freedom, would lead her to re- 

 fuse all sustenance. In time, he becomes also 

 much attached to the person who takes care of 

 him. He will call his attendant with a particular 

 note, and when he sees him approach, his tones 

 become more expressive of affection. Like the 

 nightingale, the fauvette, within the walls of its 

 prison, seems as sensible to the approach of the 

 season of emigration, as when flying, with unfet- 



