12 CATALOGUE OF BIEDS. 



GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 



Case 14. 



Though frequently found in the neighbourhood of 

 water, this Warbler is by no means so aquatic in its 

 habits as the more common Reed and Sedge Warblers. 

 Several pairs breed round most of the broads in the 

 east of Norfolk, and I have also discovered tii'Av nests 

 in hayfields and bramble-covered banks in the more 

 southern counties. 



When shooting in the Nook, at Rye, in Sussex, 

 early one morning in May, 1858, 1 found the samphire 

 and other small weeds that grow on the mudbanks 

 completely swarming with Grasshopper Warblers. 

 They had evidently only just landed, and were on the 

 point of making their way inland. There must have 

 been sev^eral hundreds in a small patch of weed of a 

 dozen or twenty acres. There were probably some 

 other small birds of passage among them, but two 

 shots which I tired into the weeds produced about half 

 a dozen, all of which were of this species. 



I am unable to account for so many being found 

 together, as I have noticed that our spring migrants 

 arrive, for the most part, singly or in small detached 

 parties, large numbers seldom being observed flying in 

 company. 



Though very difficult to catch a glimpse of during 

 the day, even near their nesting-quarters, they may 

 generally be seen about daybreak singing on some high 

 reed or branch of a tree. The slightest sign of danger, 

 however, is sufficient to cause them to drop like a stone 

 into the thick cover, where they quietly remain, creep- 

 ing about like a mouse till the place is again quiet. 



