. A history of British birds . very like the male, but has the lower wing-coverts of a lighter buff. According to Selby, the young of the year have the regionof the eyes greyish-white; head, upper part of the neck,back, rump and wing-coverts, yellowish-brown passing intooil-green ; quills greenish-grey, edged with oil-green ; cheeksand sides of the neck yellowish-grey; throat, breast, sidesand under tail-coverts, wine-yellow; middle of the belly,white ; legs, toes and claws, pearl-grey. By Dr. Kaup this species has been separated from theother Warblers, its near allies, under the generic name,
. A history of British birds . very like the male, but has the lower wing-coverts of a lighter buff. According to Selby, the young of the year have the regionof the eyes greyish-white; head, upper part of the neck,back, rump and wing-coverts, yellowish-brown passing intooil-green ; quills greenish-grey, edged with oil-green ; cheeksand sides of the neck yellowish-grey; throat, breast, sidesand under tail-coverts, wine-yellow; middle of the belly,white ; legs, toes and claws, pearl-grey. By Dr. Kaup this species has been separated from theother Warblers, its near allies, under the generic name,Epilais; but the characters assigned by him are quiteinsufficient to justify such a step. In the formation of itsbill, however, a feature not mentioned by him, the G-arden-Warbler does undoubtedly differ from either of the White-throats or from the two species next to be described, andin this respect indeed it would seem to stand almost aloneamong European Sylviidce. VOL. ]. 3 H 41SPASSERES. : n ylvii />./■;. Sylvia ateicapilla (Linnaeus*). THE BLACKCAP. (urruca atricaspilla. The Blackcap is a true sylvan Warbler, visiting thiscountry from the South and East every spring, arrivingabout the middle of April, or sometimes rather earlier, ac-cording to the state of the season, hut never, says Selby,till the larch-trees are visibly green; and it leaves us again,with an occasional exception, in September. Several , have occurred of examples being observed and ob-tained during winter, in various parts of the British Islands. bike the Nightingale, and most other spring-migrants,the males of this species arrive some days before the females,and their song soon betrays their retreat. It frequentswoods, plantations, thick hedges, orchards and gardens. Itis then restless, timid and shy; and is no sooner observedthan it exhibits its anxiety to gain some place of concealment * Motecilla atricapilla, Linnaeus, Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 332 (1766). BLACKCAP. 419
Size: 1644px × 1521px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1885
