THE YOUNG 



fond of the pupae of ants, and larvas of 

 various sorts. 



In Confinement the Nightingale may be 

 fed upon German paste, "ants' eggs," hard- 

 boiled eggs, with occasional meal worms or 

 caterpillars. A receipt for making German 

 paste for soft-billed birds is as follows : — 



Pea-meal 7 lbs. 



Scotch Oatmeal 2 



Moist Sugar i ,, 



Beef Dripping ,, 



Honey i ,, 



Hemp Seed 2 quarts. 



Maw Seed i pint. 



The dripping and honey are melted together 

 in a saucepan, and the meal and sugar well 

 rubbed in so that no lumps are left. Then 

 add the hemp seed (crushed) and the maw 

 seed, and put the whole into an earthen jar 

 to cool. A teacupful of this paste must be 

 mixed with a hard-boiled egg and passed 

 through a sieve, which will be sufficient for 

 five or six birds. All the warblers and soft- 

 billed birds may be fed upon this food. 

 These birds, however, should never be kept 

 in confinement except where there is a 

 roomy aviary that can have a little artificial 

 heat in winter. There the birds will be 

 almost as much at home as in the woods, 

 especially if ants, &c., are caught in quan- 

 tities and turned in. 



Habitat. — in this country the Nightin- 

 gale is nearly confined to the Southern, 

 Eastern, and Midland counties. The most 

 Northern place where it occurs regularly is 

 Odlington Wood, near Doncaster, where, 

 however, it is much rarer than formerly. 

 Occasional stragglers have been known as 

 far north as Scarbro', and I have heard of 

 one near Guisbro'. in the heart of the 

 Cleveland Hills. In Scotland and in 

 Ireland it is unknown, and doubtful north 

 of Yorkshire. 



Abroad it is found in most parts of Europe, 

 except the most northern ; also in Persia, 

 Turkey, Palestine, and parts of Africa. 



NATURALIST. 107 



Nest. — I am indebted to Mr. F. Kerry, 

 of Harwich, for a nest and eggs of this 

 species, which he found so near a fallen 

 tree that the old bird had forsaken it. The 

 outside, as is usual, is composed of grass 

 and dry oak leaves, with a lining of finer 

 grass. It is always built on or near the 

 ground, generally on a sloping bank, or in a 

 hedgerow, where the overhanging herbage 

 hides it somewhat from view. 



Eggs. — The number of eggs vary from 

 four to six, and are generally of a uniform 

 dark olive brown (fig. i). 



Varieties. — One is figured in Hewitson's 

 "Illustrations," which is bluish grey, with 

 olive red freckles, and which I have taken 

 the liberty to copy (fig 2). Occasionally 

 nearly as blue as the hedge-sparrow's, but 

 somewhat duller in tint. 



41. BLACKCAP. 

 Sylvia atrioapilla, L. 



Atricapilla. — Ater (L.), black ; capillus 

 (L.), the hair. 



Size. — Length, about 6J in. ; expanse, 

 a little over 9 in. 



Plumage. — Adult male.— Bill nearly 

 black ; eyes dark brown ; the upper part of 

 the head black ; sides and back of neck 

 ashy grey ; back, tail, and wings olive grey ; 

 under parts whitish grey ; legs lead colour. 



The Female has the back rather tinged 

 with brown, and the crown of the head is 

 reddish Irown ; otherwise it is similar to 

 the male. 



The Young. — Similar to the female, but 

 rather lighter in colour. 



Varieties. — I know of none having 

 occurred in this country. In Madeira and 

 the Azores a curious variety of the male is 

 found, the black on the head extending as 

 far as the shoulders and round under the 

 throat. It has been described under the name 

 of Curtmca Heineheni by Sir W. Jardine. 



Note* — The Blackcap is another rich 



