GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER. 169 



A. g.fainiliai-is (Mene.), which occurs in south-eastern Europe 

 and western Asia and winters further south in Asia and in 

 Africa, has been recorded — from Kent and Sussex — on four 

 occasions, all in spring or early summer. Length 6*5 ins. 

 Wing, 3*5 ins. Tarsus i in. 



Grasshopper-Warbler. Loaistella vmna (Bodd.). 



Except in the north of Scotland the Grasshopper- Warbler 

 (Plate 69) is a summer resident in all parts of the British Isles ; 

 it is a western European species, wintering in Africa. 



Its retiring and skulking habits, without doubt, cause the 

 Grasshopper- Warbler or " Reeler " to be overlooked ; it 

 frequents marshes in the lowlands and is found high on the 

 moors, though nowhere abundant and always local. It is not 

 an early migrant, though it quickly spreads over the country, 

 often reaching the north by the middle of April or early May. 

 Its time of arrival and numbers are irregular ; there are good 

 and bad years for the species. 



There is nothing to strike the eye in its sombre plumage, 

 but the rounded tail, which is drooped and depressed when 

 the bird is disturbed from the nest, is noticeable ; indeed, 

 we often hear but do not see the singer. The long 

 monotonous "reeling" song has little musical value, but it 

 is an interesting performance, in which, with vibrating throat 

 and wide-open bill, the bird trills one note with hardly per- 

 ceptible pauses for from a few seconds to two or three minutes. 

 So insistent is the sound that where a long trill ends suddenly 

 the silence for a moment seems oppressive. It is a high- 

 pitched rippling chirp, inaudible to some ears, which rises and 

 falls, now a faint hum, now hke the rattle of a distant mowing 

 machine, now like an angler's reel, but never resembling the 

 chirrup of the insect from which the bird gets its name. It is 

 perhaps best heard in the early morning, but the bird sings 



