WARBLERS, ACCENTORS, ETC. 



389 



Although not very generally known, the 

 Grasshopper \Varl)ler is not at all uncommon in 

 some parts of l-]ngland, and would seem to be 

 pretty generally dispersed throughout the coun- 

 try. It arrives about the middle of April and 

 leaves again in September. It is so very retir- 

 ing that it manages to elude any but the most 

 patient observer. From the colour of its plu- 

 mage, and a habit of running along the bottoms 

 of hedgerows or amongst the grass and sedge, 

 it has often puzzled those who have heard its 

 cricket-like song, seemingly close at hand, yet 

 provokingly deceptive as to its real position. 

 It \ni\y be heard singing in the evenings as well 

 as during the day, though, as a songster, it can- 

 not chum much attention, the song being very 

 peculiar, resembling the call of the cricket, from 

 which it derives the name, " Green Grass- 

 hopper." 



It is a valuable species for exhibition pur- 

 poses and is about 5J in. in length. The bill is 

 brown and thin ; the head, neck, back and 

 wings are olive-brown, all the feathers centred 

 with darker brown, producing a spotted appear- 

 ance ; the tail is dark greenish-brown, shaded 

 with cross-bars of dusky-brown and wedge- 

 shajied ; the chin and throat are yellowish-white, 

 the latter being sprinkled with small brown 

 spots ; the breast is yellowish-green, shading 

 to greenish-brown on the sides, running to 

 whitish on the abdomen ; feet pale brown or 

 flesh-colour. 



In a cage it has much in common with the 

 Pipit in its movements, and a similar cage to 

 that used for keeping and exhibiting that 

 bird answers well for this Warbler. It will 

 also do well on the food recommended for the 

 other Warblers, and should be allowed free use 

 of the bath. In hand-rearing these birds, Mr. 

 Cocks says, " nothing equals live gentles for 

 them. I never lost a bird taken. I use the 

 gentles from the bright blue-green-bodied fly ; 

 it is about half the size of the meat fly (blue- 

 bottle) gentle, and is yellow when cleaned and 

 scoured. I use pine sawdust for cleaning the 

 gentles, sifting the sawdust through a y'j-inch 

 mesh sieve, then sifting the gentles out of it 

 when clean ; they are then ready for use, and 

 are given to the birds impaled on a sack- or 

 packing-needle ; I use one slightly bent and 

 about 7 inches long. If the gentles are given 

 whole, without the skin being pierced, I believe 

 the smaller insectivorous birds pass them entire, 

 and starve to death ; but by giving them im- 

 paled from the packing-needle they obtain the 

 nutriment from them through the pierced 

 parts. I took one nest of six at four days old, 

 and fed them every half-hour from 5 a.m. until 

 8.30 p.m. for the first three days, giving each 

 one one or two gentles each time, if they would 



The Hedge 

 Sparrow. 



take the second, .\fter the third day they 

 were fed every hour, and given as many gentles 

 each time as they would take. Another nest 

 of five was taken at eight days old, and success- 

 fully reared in the same way. In each case all 

 the birds were doing for themselves before 

 they were three weeks old, and were fed on 

 gentles only until they were about eight weeks 

 old. They were then gradually weaned on to 

 the ordinary insectivorous food, with a liberal 

 supply of gentles." All who remember Mr. 

 Cocks exhibiting these birds will recall their 

 splendid condition. 



The Hedge Sparrow^ sub family Acccnloridie 

 Accentor moduluris {Macg.}. is one of our 

 resident birds, though some mi- 

 gration is said to take place. 

 It is known by the various names 

 of Dyke, Dunnock, Hedge Warbler, and 

 Shufllewing. and is a frequenter, as its name 

 denotes, of hawthorn hedges, where it may 

 be heard uttering its plaintive little song, 

 which, though not of any great variety, is very 

 pretty and may be heard almost all the year 

 round. It builds very early in the year, and 

 the first nests are therefore quite exposed in 

 the leafless hedgerows or other sites with 

 their delicately tinted light blue eggs. It seems 

 peculiarly liable to the depredations of the 

 Cuckoo, it being notorious that as many young 

 Cuckoos are reared by this little bird as by any 

 other victim of that houseless robber. The 

 manner in which the young Cuckoo obtains sole 

 possession of the nest is peculiar. The egg is 

 deposited in the nest by the shiftless Cuckoo, 

 and is hatched by the Hedge Sparrow in bliss- 

 ful ignorance of the enemy that has l)een 

 insinuated into her otherwise happy family. 

 The young Cuckoo soon shows its sujierior 

 strength, and having a peculiar hollow in its 

 back, heaves the unfortunate nestlings one by 

 one out of their warm abode, they of course 

 perishing, whilst the unsuspicious parents con- 

 tinue their attentions to the murderer of their 

 unfortunate offspring. 



Though so common and sober in colour, the 

 Hedge Sparrow is a most interesting and desir- 

 aljle pet for cage or aviary. In length it is 

 about Si' inches. Its plumage is rather un- 

 pretending, the whole of the upper part, includ- 

 ing the wings and tail, are chestnut-brown, the 

 back being speckled with blackish-Ijrown, whilst 

 the head and neck are shaded with bluish-grey ; 

 the under part is slaty-grey, slightly tinged 

 with brown, and speckled on the breast and 

 sides with chestnut-brown. The food of this 

 bird when at liberty consists of insects in their 

 various stages of development, worms and seeds 

 such as grasses and grains. In hard weather 

 it will visit the towns and farmyards, freciuent- 



