G'J 



THE BLACKCAP. 



Sijlvia atricapilla (L.). 



This species arrived sinfjly, or in very small parties, all 

 along our southern coast. One individual was recorded 

 in Dorset on the 30th of March, one in Kent on April 

 the 2nd, and in Devon and Somerset on the 4th, while 

 during the first three weeks o£ the month the records were 

 those of single birds scattered over a wide area, chiefly in 

 the southern counties. 



A small immigration was noted on the 14th at the Start 

 light, Devon, and on the 15th at St. C'atherine's light, 

 Hants. The first inland records were from Leicestershire on 

 the 14th, Cheshire on the 21st, and Yorkshire on the 25th. 



In Dorset a few birds had become resident on the 21st, 

 and by the end of the month the species had settled down in 

 its usual numbers in the southern counties. On May the 1st 

 Blackcaps were still very scarce in Yorkshire, where a few 

 males only had been recorded, and in Wales, also, they arrived 

 later than in the south and south-east. 



On the 6th and 7th there was an immigration of this 

 species at St. Catherine's light, Hants, followed by an 

 increase in Berkshire on the latter date, and in Dorset, 

 Berks and Yorkshire on the 8th, while the first arrival in 

 Westmoreland was recorded on the 10th. 



There were further immigrations on the 15th and 20th at 

 the Hants lights, but these can only be traced by an increase 

 in the numl)er of Blackcaps in the more northern counties. 



Nests were reported from Hampshire and Worcestershire 

 on May the 2nd, from Berkshire on the 5th, and by the 20th 

 of May the nesting-season was at its height. 



