SYLVIA. 67 



Ireland ; it does not nest in the northern Highlands of Scot- 

 land. A Bird of Passage to and from its northern European 

 summer quarters and its African winter retreats, when it 

 occurs in spring and autumn from the Shetlands south- 

 wards, and has been observed as far west as St. Kilda. 



General Distribution. — The Garden- Warblerbreeds through- 

 out Europe, with the exception of the extreme north, south 

 to Sptiin and Epirus, in north-west Africa, western Siberia, 

 Persia, and Transcaspia. It winters in tropical and southern 

 Africa. 



Sylvia atricapilla. Blackcap. 



Motacilla atricapilla Linnceus, Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 187: 



Sweden. 



Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.) ; Seebohm, Cat. Birds B. M. v. 1881, 

 p. 23 ; B. O. U. List, 1st ed. 1883, p. 12 ; Saunders, Manual 

 2nd ed. 1899, p. 47. 



Ah-icapilla , from cUer = black, and cdpillus = hair. 



Distribution in the British Islands. — A Summer Visitor. 

 Widely distributed in Great Britain as far north as the 

 Highlands of Scotland, where it becomes scarce and does 

 not extend to the more northern districts. It is local in 

 Ireland. A Bird of Passage, occurring from the Shetlands 

 southwards, but chiefly on the east coast, on its spring and 

 autumn journeys to and from its northern European summer 

 home and its winter retreats in south Europe and tropical 

 Africa. Occasionally it spends the winter in our islands. 



General Distribution. — The Blackcap breeds in every 

 country in Europe, its northern limit being 66° N. latitude 

 in Scandinavia ; also in north-west Africa, Madeira, the 

 Canary Islands, the Azores, Cape Verde Islands, Asia Minor, 

 Syria, Persia, and in western Siberia near Omsk. The 

 majority pass the winter in Africa, but some individuals 

 remain in southern Europe. Birds from Madeira and the 

 Canary Islands have been separated as a distinct race. 



