GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 107 



but the restless motions of the birds, and the dense- 

 ness of the herbage, render them more likely to be dis- 

 covered through accident than by the most diligent search. 

 That they do breed there, however, has been proved by 

 the appearance of the breast feathers in more than one 

 female, and two young birds of the year have been also 

 obtained. It was also formerly abundant in the fen- 

 districts in the south-western corner of the county, 

 where it was known to the sedge-cutters as the 

 "reeler," through a fancied resemblance between the 

 sound of its song and the noise made by a fishing line 

 running off the reel; and even now, in spite of the 

 changes effected by drainage and cultivation, a few 

 pairs still resort there every year. Mr. Newcome's 

 collection contains several eggs of this species from 

 Feltwell fen, and he informs me that a few nests 

 are found there nearly every season. The earliest 

 appearance of these warblers, to my knowledge, is 

 the first week in April, and several have been 

 heard towards the end of August, about which time 

 they probably leave us. The females are, if any- 

 thing, larger than the males, but the latter, even in 

 their young plumage, are at once distinguishable by a 

 number of minute spots on the throat, and the legs of 

 this, as also of Savi's warbler, are flesh-coloured, and 

 the eggs profusely freckled with minute pink spots on a 

 white ground. On the 7th of June, 1852, a male bird 

 was shot near a pond at Tivetshall, which, from its 

 peculiar tints and small size, might almost be termed a 

 variety. I have only once since met with a similar 

 specimen, also a male ; in both cases the underparts ex- 

 hibited a rich yellowish tinge, reminding one rather of 

 the willow or wood-warbler, and the markings on the 

 back and wings were far more vivid than usual. The 

 latter example in my collection is, however, no longer 

 distinctive in this respect, the brighter shades having 



