488 GRASSHOPPER CHIRPER. 



above, horny, thin-edged, the tip rounded, deeply slit, and 

 lacerated. The oesophagus is 1{S long, of moderate and uni- 

 form width ; the proventriculus oblong ; the stomach rounded, 

 five twelfths long, and four and a half twelfths in breadth ; its 

 lateral muscles distinct, the left much larger ; the epithelium 

 very thin, dense, rather soft, with longitudinal rugae ; the in- 

 testine ten inches long, its greatest width two twelfths ; the 

 coeca two and a half twelfths lon^. 



Length to end of tail 5{^ ; extent of wings 9j^ ; bill along 

 the ridge |l^ along the edge of lower mandible i% ; wing from 

 flexure Sj^^g ; tail 2f\ ; tarsus j% ; hind toe j^^, its claw 1*^ ; 

 middle toe l^^, its claw |t. 



Habits of the Grasshopper Chirper. 



" During a short residence in Norfolk, from the middle of 

 June to the beginning of October 1888, I had almost daily 

 opportunities of hearing the singular note of this interesting 

 bird, which is nowhere perhaps more abundant than in the 

 neighbourhood of Norwich, where J saw it alive for the first 

 time. While on my botanico-entomological rambles, I was 

 often surprised by a very remarkable cry which I frequently 

 heard, apparently coming from the hedges skirting the road, 

 and went to the spot in hopes of discovering some large species 

 of Grasshopper, or mayhap a mole-cricket, or similar insect, 

 but without success. The note, if once heard, can never be 

 afterwards mistaken for the sound of a grasshopper or cricket, 

 however striking the resemblance ; besides, the length of time 

 for which it is continued, provided the bird be not disturbed, is 

 much greater. Thus, on one occasion, while watching some 

 pike-lines, by the margin of a deep pool, I heard the trill of 

 the Grasshopper Chirper emitted from a neighbouring hedge for 

 at least twenty minutes, during which time the bird appeared to 

 have been sitting on the same spot. I cannot state the period 

 of the arrival of this bird in the eastern counties, but I ob- 

 served it as late as the end of September, up to which period 

 I regularly saw and heard my little friends in a lane through 

 which I passed every second day on my way to the bath-house 



