Gould greatly admired the song of the Blackcap 'whose richly modulated and melodious notes salute the ear of everyone who visits the woodlands...at the commencement of spring, at which time the birds arrive from the warmer parts of Europe direct from Africa.'

The male is depicted above, with the female on a flowering branch of the Blackthorn.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds from the British Isles and south Scandinavia southeast to the Irtysh river, and south to the Atlantic islands, northwest Africa, Mediterranean region, and through to Iran. Winters in south Europe and north tropical Africa