THE BLACKCAP. 129 



THE BLACKCAP. 



THIS well-known forest musician, praised alike in poetry and prose, has been 

 probably as much written about as the acknowledged king of songsters, the Night- 

 ingale. His marvellous voice and imitations place him at once in the foremost rank 

 of feathered songsters. He is best known as the u Mock Nightingale," and by 

 enthusiastic Europeans is placed on an equal footing with the American Mocking- 

 bird. In many of the small villages of Germany, he. of all birds, is the favorite. 

 Bechstein says of his song, u If his song have less volume and be not so distinct as 

 that of the Nightingale, it is purer and more flute-like in its tone, more connected, 

 and has almost as many varieties of notes." 



It is surprising that so small a bird as the Blackcap is capable of uttering such a 

 volume of song. When singing he sits perfectly still, and pours forth strain after 

 strain, producing the most delightful musical climaxes. 



The Blackcap is about five inches and three-quarters in length, of which the tail 

 measures two inches and one-quarter. The beak is horn blue ; the iris chestnut brown ; 

 the cheeks, and back of the neck, are light gray ; the upper part of the body and wing- 

 coverts ashen gray ; the under part of the body very light gray, inclining to white on 

 the throat and belly ; the pen and tail feathers are dark brown, edged with the color 

 of the back. The top of the head is surmounted by a round jet-black cap, from 

 which he derives his name, and by which he may be easily distinguished from other 

 birds. In Germany he is nicknamed " The Monk." 



The female is a trifle larger than the male, and may be distinguished from him 

 by the color of the cap, which is a chocolate brovn : other parts are also tinged 

 with brown. 



The plumage of the Blackcap is very soft and silky, which accounts for the usual 

 poor condition of the feathers when a large number are imported together. 



The Blackcap has his home all over Europe, and migrates about the middle of 

 September, being one of the first of European birds to migrate ; for this reason they 

 are kept in the bird-shops only at certain seasons of the year. In confinement 

 the Blackcap will sing the greater part of the year, ceasing only during the migratory 

 fever -in March and September, and a short period during the moulting season, which 

 may be in either July or August. 



The chief requisite for keeping the Blackcap in song is, careful attention to his 

 food, and the utmost cleanliness of his cage. " My Blackcap has not sung since 

 I bought him," is a chronic complaint with the purchasers of these birds ; and " I 

 bought him on the recommendations of the number of books I have read about the 

 superiority of his song," says another. " I believe it is a fraud to sell a dumb bird 



