326 SUMMER. 



Of the sylvan warblers, the most numerous and 

 widely dispersed is the blackcap (sylvici atricapilla). 



BLACKCAP. 



It is a very handsome bird, between five and six inches 

 in length, and between eight and nine in the stretch of 

 the wings ; and weighs rather more than half an ounce. 

 The head of the male is of a deep black, from which 

 it gets its name ; the head of the female is brown. 

 The general colour of the body of the bird is gray, 

 lighter on the under part, and tinged with dull green 

 above, which last is more conspicuous in the female 

 than in the male. The blackcap extends almost as 

 far north into Scotland as there are woods that suit its 

 habits. It prefers those that are close with under- 

 wood, and is very abundant in pine plantations when 

 young. In those places it is one of the most common 

 song birds, and makes the whole wood ring with its 

 music. With the exception of the nightingale, it 

 has more power and compass in its song than any of 

 the warblers ; and is probably the most effective of 



