WARBLERS 35 



Eggs. Usually 5-6. Thickly speckled, or mottled ochreous 

 or yellowish-brown on a paler ground. Not unlike 

 the yellow- wag tail's. Black hair streaks common. 

 There are rare white and pink varieties. Av. 

 length *70 x *52 in. Laying begins in May- June. 

 One brood usual. 



64. Grasshopper - warbler [Locustella ncevia 

 ncevia (Boddaert)]. Summer visitor to suitable 

 localities moorland, commons, marsh. 



Bird. Length 5J in. Distinguished by the 

 slight barring on the tail. It may further be 

 distinguished from other British species by the 

 curious " reeling " note not unlike the continuous 

 chirping of the grasshopper, whence its name. Fig. 37. 

 The upper-parts are reddish-brown with black- 

 brown markings, more or less in the form of longitudinal lines. 

 Faint eye-stripe. Under-parts pale brownish with a few darker 

 streaks on the breast. 



Nest. Place : heather, low down in bushes, undergrowth, 

 and tanglecl herbage. Material : coarse grass, leaves, moss, 

 &c., lined with finer grass. 



Eggs. Usually 6. Thickly speckled with fine red-brown 

 spots, " which occasionally form a zone, and in rare instances 

 are replaced by bold blotches on a creamy-white ground " 

 (Jourdain). Av. size, *69 x *53 in. Laying begins in May. 

 Usually one brood. 



(11) Family : Accentoridce Accentors 



65. Dunnock or Hedge-sparrow [Accentor modularis occi- 

 dentalis Hartert ; also described as Prunella modularis 

 occidentalis (Hartert)]. Resident throughout our Isles. The 

 Continental and lighter-coloured form \_A. m. modularis] is a 

 fairly numerous winter visitor to our east coasts. 



Bird. Length 5J in. Distinguished by the slate-grey head, 

 neck,andforebreaststreakedwith brown. The male has the back 

 streaked with brown on a rufous tinge. Below the slate-grey the 

 breast is dull greyish-white. Flanks palebrownstreaked amber- 

 brown. Wings, quills, and tail dusky brown with paler brown 

 margins. Beak comparatively slender and entirely different 

 from the thick beak of the house-sparrow. Female duller. 



Nest. Place : usually in bushes, hedges, creepers, banks. 

 Material : usually twigs, moss, grass, lined with hair, wool, 

 moss, &c. 



Eggs. Usually 4-5. Unspotted blue. Rarely white. Av. 

 size, -78 x '58 in. Laying begins in* March- April. Broods 2-3. 



