Blackcap to Bluecap

Bird Dictionary

Get more interesting bird facts and information at The Wonder of Birds or check out more from our bird dictionary:

Aasvogel to Albino

Alectorides to Amazon

Ambiens to Ani

Anisodactyli to Ateal

Auk to Axilla

Babbler to Barley Bird

Barwing to Bengali

Berghaan to Blackbird

Blackcap to Bluecap

Bluethroat to Bronze Wing

Brubru to Buzzard

Caeca to Carr Goose

Cashew Bird to Charadriomorphae

Chat to Churn Owl

Circulation to Cob

Cobblers-Awl to Coracoid

Coracomorphae to Crest

Crocker to Cypselomorphae

Dabchick to Devling

Dhayal to Dollarbird

Blackcap
            The blackcap is the Sylvia atricapilla of ornithology, one of the most delicate songsters of the UK and Europe, and fortunately of good general distribution in the summer. Much praise was bestowed upon this bird by 18th century naturalist Gilbert White.  Its tones always brought to his mind the lines in As You Like It (Act ii. sc. 5):

"And turn his merry note
Unto the sweet bird's throat."

The name, however, is only visually applicable to the male bird of this species, who further differs from his browncapped mate by the pure ashy - grey of his upper plumage.  But notwithstanding the marked sexual difference in appearance, he shares with her the duty of incubation, and has been declared by more than one ornithologist to sing while so employed - a statement that may seem hardly credible. Closely allied to the Blackcap, which, it may be said, is a regular summer visitor, though examples have sometimes occurred in winter in England, are the so-called Garden-WARBLER, and the WHITE-THROAT.

The name Blackcap is also applied to some other birds, and both in the UK country and in North America especially to certain species of TITMOUSE and GULL which have the top of the head black as well as locally to the STONECHAT and Reed Bunting.
 

Blackcock
            The male of the bird to which the name Grows or GROUSE seems to have been originally given.
 

Bleater
            A name for the SNIPE, from the noise it makes in its love flights, the cause of which has given rise to much discussion.
 

Blight Bird
            See Zosterops.
 

Blood
            
 

Blood Bird
            The Blood Bird is an alternatine name for the Scarlet Honeyeater,  Myzomela sanguinolenta.  It is one of the species of the genus Myzomela, belonging to the Meliphagidae (HONEY SUCKER or Honeyeater), and is so called in New South Wales (Latham). (Gould, Handb. B. Australia, i. p. 555.)
 

Blood Olph
        A not uncommon local name of the Bullfinch.
 

Blood Pheasant
            The Anglo-Indian name for the Ithaginis Cruentus of ornithologists, one of the most beautiful game-birds of the mountains of Eastern Nepal, Sikkim and Nortern China, so called from the blood-red blotches with which its otherwise green plumage is diversified.  The Blood pheasant is the State Bird of Sikkim in India.
 

Bluebird
            
 

Bluecap
            A common name of the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus), previously known as the Blue Titmouse.

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