61 



THE BLACKCAP. 



Sylvia atricapilla (L.). 



Between March the 20th and April the 10th the records 

 show the presence of a few Blackcaps, chiefly males, scattered 

 throughout the whole o£ the south-eastern and southern 

 counties of England from Suffolk to Devonshire. 



From April the 11th to May the 2ord there were constant 

 arrivals of these birds on the south coast, and, by reason 

 of the completeness of the coast-records, nine separate 

 immigrations could be traced during that time. The two 

 movements took place on April the 18th and on April the 

 21st and 22nd. The other immigrations were much smaller 

 and took place at times when other species were arriving in 

 large numbers. 



The last two immigrations, on May the 14th-16th and 

 May the 22nd-23rd, seem to have consisted mostly of a few 

 female birds. 



The Jirst immigration was one of quite minor importance, 

 and occurred on the south coast from Kent to Dorset on April 

 the 11th and 13th. Thence the birds spread into Surrey on 

 the 12th and 13th, Suffolk on the 13th and 14th, Somerset 

 on the 14th, Berks on the 16th, and Norfolk and Glamorgan 

 on the 19th. 



The second immigration, on the other hand, was a very 

 large one and occurred on the Hampshire coast on April the 

 18th. From there the birds appear to have spread chiefly in 

 a north-westerly direction through Grloucester and Somerset 

 on the 20th and 21st, reaching Derby and N. Wales on 

 the 23rd., Cheshire on the 24th, and Durham and Yorkshire 

 on the 25th and 26th. 



