96 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



is fairly common at Malton ; near Bedale it was formerly 

 numerous, but has decreased during the past two or three 

 years, and this state of things obtains in some other places ; 

 one or two pairs nest in the Sedbergh district, on the moor 

 edges ; in the Scarborough neighbourhood it is moderately 

 plentiful, and a few pairs breed near Whitby ; in Cleve- 

 land it nests scatteringly in a good many localities and 

 has been found within two or three miles of the town of 

 Middlesbrough ; formerly it was frequently heard along the 

 hedgerows bordering the sand-hills near Redcar ; of late, 

 however, it appears to have discontinued its visits to that 

 part and has not been noted for several years past. In 

 Tunstall's time it was known at Wycliffe-on-Tees, for he 

 states (MS. p. 107), " This bird is sometimes found in this 

 neighbourhood." &| i ^ 



The Reports of the British Association Migration Committee 

 do not furnish much information respecting the movements 

 of this species, the only entry referring to this county being 

 the following : 



" On 1 2th September 1881, two were killed in the night 



against the lantern of Spurn Lighthouse." 



(Fourth Report, p. 33.) 



The nest of the Grasshopper Warbler is generally most 

 craftily concealed and difficult to discover, so that perhaps 

 it may be commoner than is supposed to be the case ; the late 

 W. Talbot found one on the ground amongst rough grass, the 

 tops of which were drawn together so as to form a dome, 

 with an arched passage leading to the nest, and he states 

 that the bird ran amongst the grass like a rat. On 6th August 

 1884, a nest was discovered with four eggs, evidently a 

 second clutch, in a tuft of tussock grass, overshadowed with 

 bracken fern which hid it entirely from view, and the owner 

 threaded its way in and out in a similar manner to that 

 described by Talbot. In Wensleydale it has been found 

 on the moors near Carperby, and, as stated above, it has 

 been met with on the Ilkley and Sedbergh Moors. 



There do not appear to be any truly vernacular names 

 used in Yorkshire, and the term, Sibilous Brakehopper, 



