THE SINGING BIRDS. 243 



this tint on specimens obtained in this country, and Mr. Yarrell quotes part of a letter received from 

 the Rev. W. F. Cornish, of Totnes, which says, " I have reared the Lesser Whitethroat, two males and 

 a female ; the males had a beautiful tinge of carmine on the breast." 



Mr. Hepburn, who was the first to discover this species in East Lothian, has furnished the 

 following notice respecting it: — "On the 7th of May, 1838, I first heard the song of the Lesser 

 Whitethroat {Sylvia curruca). In its habits it is shy and retiring ; it loves to frequent copses and 

 gardens. When you approach its haunts it conceals itself in the thickest shade, where it utters its 

 alarm-note, distending its throat a little. One day in July, when lying in wait for Wood Pigeons in a 

 ditch beneath the shade of some hedge-row trees, I observed one sporting amongst the hawthorn 

 twigs. He once sprung into the air, caught an insect, and then began to sing in a very low voice, 

 ending in a very shrill, tremulous cry. House Sparrows, Hedge Chanters, Chaffinches, Wagtails, 

 Willow Wrens, Wood Wrens, White Throats, dart into the air in the very same way. The little, 

 fellow ceased his song when he observed me, and sought the middle of the hedge, where he remained 

 till I left my place. I teased him thus for about twenty minutes. He had young ones at the time. 

 It was about the beginning of July that I observed that both the Greater and Lesser Whitethroats 

 made excursions into fields of growing wheat and beans. In the former case they settle on the stalk 

 near to the ear, which they diligently examine. The Wheat Fly (Cecidomyia tritici) at this season 

 deposits its eggs between the glumes of the corn, and we may reasonably suppose that the White- 

 throats devour this destructive insect, in doing which they must confer a great benefit on the farmer, 

 as far as their influence extends. After this I shall never grudge them a few currants. But this is 

 not all ; for, besides destroying vast numbers of other insects which feed on the honey contained in 

 the nectary of the bean, I have seen their little mouths filled with the black or collier aphides, which 

 often commit much damage by adhering to the top of the field bean and sucking its juice, so that 

 sometimes fruit, leaves, and stem perish. It prefers the red currant to all other fruits. It departs 

 about the 8th or 10th of September." 



" The louder notes of this bird," says Mr. Yarrell, " have nothing particular in their tone to 

 recommend them ; but if approached with sufficient caution to prevent alarm, or when kept in con- 

 finement, they may be heard to utter a low, soft, and pleasing whistle, which is almost incessant ; so 

 much so as to have induced the application of the epithets of gam/la and babillard, as terms of 

 specific distinction. The nest is usually placed upon a thick bush near the ground, and resembles 

 that made by other members of the family. The eggs are from four to six in number, round, and 

 pure white or bluish green, marked with violet-grey or yellowish-brown spots, most thickly strewn 

 over the broad end. ■ Both parents assist in the process of incubation, and tend and protect their 

 young with the utmost care and assiduity ; but, like the species already described, will often, if dis- 

 turbed when brooding, desert not merely their nest, but the eggs contained therein. We have 

 frequently remarked that the same self-sacrificing devotion exhibited by this species to its own 

 nestlings is also displayed towards the young Cuckoos that are sometimes reared involuntarily as 

 inmates of the little family." 



THE CAPIROTE, OR BLACK-CAP. 



The Capirote, or Black-cap (Curruca atricapilia), one of the most highly-endowed of woodland 

 songsters, is greyish black upon the upper parts of the body ; the under side is light grey, with the 

 throat of a still paler shade. In the adult male the crown of the head is deep black, in the females 

 and young reddish brown ; the eyes are brown, the beak black, and the feet dark grey. This species 

 is five inches and ten lines long, and eight inches broad ; the wing measures two inches and a half 

 and the tail two and a quarter ; the size of the female is the same as that of her mate. It is at 



