Part 6

THE BLACKCAP Sylvia atricapilla (Linnæus)

Those whose good fortune does not allow them to live within earshot of the Nightingale, point to the Blackcap as having a song little, if at all, inferior to that of the prince of songsters.

Comparisons are at all times odious and in this case misleading, for to our mind no comparison can possibly be made between the two; the song is not only different, but lacks also the passion and tone so characteristic of the Nightingale.

Although a few Blackcaps sometimes winter in Devon, they are really migrants, and we gladly welcome this little bird when he makes his appearance in the spring. He will not often be seen, for, like all his tribe, he delights in woods and coppices, keeping low down in their leafy shade, and hopping along quietly from branch to branch as we approach.

His nest is very slight, made of dry grass lightly woven together and lined with a little horsehair. The eggs are very variable, being usually of a dirty creamish colour, blotched and spotted with darker brown, or sometimes of a reddish tint with dark red spots. Their food consists almost entirely of insects, and it is on this diet that the young are reared, but as the berries and fruit ripen in the hedges or our gardens a large toll is taken, especially of currants and raspberries, of which they are extremely fond. Like the Nightingale their song ceases with the hatching of the young, and for the rest of the year they are almost silent except for a harsh scolding note if the nest or young are approached. Towards the end of summer it leaves us, but for some time previous to its departure it has been so quiet and skulking that its actual departure will probably be quite unnoticed.

The adult male has the head black and the rest of the upper parts ash brown. Chin greyish white; throat, breast, and flanks ash grey; belly white. Bill horn colour. Legs lead colour. The female has the top of the head reddish brown and the young at first resemble her. The males, however, assume their black head in their first autumn, but occasionally the cap shows a decided tinge of rufous. Length 5·75 in.; wing 2·75 in.

This species is fairly common in England and Wales but rarer and more local in Scotland and Ireland.

THE GARDEN WARBLER Sylvia hortensis, Bechstein

In our minds this bird, for some reason which is not very clear, is always associated with the Blackcap. They are almost identical in habits and live in similar situations, but at the same time, although both species may often be found breeding together, the one is generally common in localities where the other is scarce and vice versa.

It is rather a late arrival, rarely appearing in numbers before the end of April, and has never been known to winter in these islands.

The nest also resembles that of the Blackcap in structure, and though the present species never lays the reddish type of egg common to the Blackcap, its eggs are very similar to the creamy variety of the latter, but the markings are as a rule more blotchy and the clear-cut small spots are far fewer.

"Garden" Warbler is to some extent a misnomer, as it is seldom found in gardens, preferring woods and coppices in the open country, and not visiting the currant bushes anything like so frequently as the Blackcap.

The sexes are alike and are of a uniform olive brown, rather darker on the wings and tail. Under parts buffish white. There is a pale streak over the eye and a greyish area on the lores.

The young are almost indistinguishable from their parents. Length 5·75 in.; wing 3 in.

Except that it is scarcer and more local, its distribution in our islands is similar to that of the Blackcap.

THE BARRED WARBLER Sylvia nisoria, Bechstein

Making its summer home in South Sweden, Denmark, East Germany and Central Europe, our islands lie too far to the west for this species to be known except as a rare straggler. About a dozen examples are known to have occurred in our eastern counties, always in autumn; it has also been taken in Skye and on two occasions in Ireland.

The general colour above is ash grey faintly barred with slate on the upper tail coverts. Under parts whitish barred with grey. The young bird is hardly barred at all and somewhat resembles a large Garden Warbler. Length 6·5 in.; wing 3·4 in.

THE SUB-ALPINE WARBLER Sylvia subalpina, Bonelli

Breeding numerously in Spain and South-East France, this species has only once occurred here, namely on St. Kilda in June 1894.

The upper parts are dull grey and under parts chestnut. There is a red ring round the eye and a conspicuous white moustache-like streak extending backwards from the bill. The female is much duller and the under parts are pale buff. Length 4·7 in.; wing 2·3 in.

THE DARTFORD WARBLER Sylvia undata (Boddært)

This bird, which is extremely rare and local with us, is the only resident member of its genus in these islands. Braving as it does our changeable and stormy climate, it is perhaps not surprising that its numbers are few, for, feeding almost entirely on insects, it must at times suffer severely from lack of food. Local, perhaps, is hardly a strong enough word to express the very stay-at-home habits of this cheery little fellow; he seems to have gone to the opposite extreme, and, while his congeners cross large stretches of the earth twice a year, he remains at home practically on the same bush. In habits he is very skulking, hiding in thick furze bushes. He will, when disturbed, take a short flight and then dive down into the thickest part of another shelter, and all we can notice in the short glimpse we get of him, is that he is extremely dark. The common on which he lives, may be many miles in extent, and apparently uniformly covered with furze and rank grass, and yet he will only be found in a special batch of furze perhaps not a hundred yards in length; there, summer and winter, we may always find a small colony, while on the rest of the common we shall hardly ever see a single individual. In spring he becomes bolder, and we may watch him as he sits on the topmost spray of a bush, flirting his tail and throwing his body and wings into many and varied positions while he rattles forth the hurried medley of notes which serves him for a song.

The nest, which is placed low down in a furze bush and well concealed, is formed of bents and furze loosely woven together and is lined with horsehair, wool, or finer grass according to the materials at hand. The eggs are whitish, very closely speckled with reddish brown, and two broods are frequently raised in the season. The sexes are alike, and have the upper parts dark slate grey. Tail long and fan-shaped, the two outer pairs of feathers having white margins and tips. Under parts chestnut streaked with white in autumn. Length 5·1 in.; wing 2·2 in.

It is found only in the South of England and sparingly in Norfolk, Suffolk, and the Midlands.

THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN Regulus cristatus, K. L. Koch

The Goldcrest is the smallest of all our birds, and though not often seen it is extremely abundant wherever a fir or cone-fir plantation is to be found. Here it spends its life hopping about restlessly in search of the small flies and insects on which it exists. It has hardly any song, and the call-note is a very feeble high-pitched squeak, which often may be heard when the bird itself is invisible. The nest is, perhaps, the neatest and most beautiful structure of any to be seen in our islands, the Long-tailed Tit's not excepted; it is deep and cup-shaped, the outside being as well finished as the interior. The bough of a non-deciduous tree is almost invariably chosen, and from the end of the bough the nest is suspended, being firmly secured to the small lateral twigs. It is composed of moss, leaves, and fir needles woven with the aid of wool and cobwebs into a compact felted mass, the interior being lined with wool and a profusion of feathers. Six to ten eggs form the clutch; they are creamy white, minutely and profusely dotted with reddish brown.

In autumn this species wanders about in small parties, while large numbers frequently arrive on our eastern shores from the Continent in October.