( 78 ) 

 FIELD-NOTES ON THE BLACKCAP. 



GEOFFREY C. S. INGRAM. 



For the purpose of this article, I have confined myself 

 entirely to observations made upon one, or in some seasons, 

 two pairs of Blackcaps {Sylvia a. atricapilla) which annually 

 return to a certain small thicket, situated within an enclosure 

 roughly 250 yards in length and 230 yards wide. Unfortun- 

 ately this locality is within one mile of the boundary of the 

 City of Cardiff, and although a certain measure of protection 

 is given to the birds that lueed there, it is very rarely that 

 any nest survi\es sufficiently long for continuous observations 

 to be made. 



The table that follows summarizes all the information I 

 have been able to obtain regarding dates of arrival, nest 

 building, incubation -period, etc. 



It is interesting to note the consistently early nests which 

 appear in the above table, and it would seem that one pair 

 of birds begin building within a few days of their arrival. 

 Such was the case in 191 1 when the nest was constructed 

 and the first e^^ laid all within ten days of the arrival of the 



