The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #11 The Blackcap
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s.
Times have changed:
“The Blackcap is really a summer visitor, but if the weather is mild, it sometimes stays in England throughout the winter.”
The RSPB say: “Although primarily a summer visitor birds from Germany and north-east Europe are increasingly spending the winter in the UK.” Well, nothing’s changed there, then, unless the numbers have gone up considerably.
The only sex with the black cap is the male. Female Blackcaps have brown caps. The naming is a standard part of the sexism inherent in birding. Male birds are named first, drawn first, described first and put first. Sometimes the females aren’t mentioned at all. It’s the male which is ‘the bird’ and the female is an extra or an adjunct. Interestingly, when sexism in birding is mentioned, it’s normally all men who complain that it’s nonsense, which does demonstrate some of the problem. Here’s the male, with its black cap:
And here’s the female with its brown cap:
And yes, I did put them in that order, didn’t I?
More Blackcaps
A male Blackcap screaming from the treetops Sunny intervals. Bright between light showers. I love this time of year, apart from the hay fever. Here's a remarkable… read more
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Blackcap in Matera It's been a wonderful few days in Matera, but it's time for us to go back to Rome. What an… read more
Brown-capped Blackcap There's a female Blackcap in this lichen-encrusted tree. Here's what the male looks like, together with my thoughts on how… read more
Blackcap There's a beautiful song coming from the bush in front of me. It's the 'Northern Nightingale', the Blackcap: Blackcaps practice… read more
Blackcap in the trees Walking around RSPB Ham Wall Nature Reserve in Somerset I can hear singing. It must be a warbler of some… read more
A Blackcap like a fine wine I'm tickled by this description of a Blackcap's song: "The Blackcap's song lacks the Blackbird or Thrush-like phrases of the… read more
Leap-frogging Blackcaps There's a Blackcap in the tree. I can hear its alarm call and then I see it; it's a female.… read moreMore Ladybird Books
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