CHAPTER X 



AN .AUGUST SONG 



E early autumnal months, quietest for 

 birds, are noisiest for grasshoppers and 

 crickets. In the sunniest corners of hedgerows, 

 or deep in the matted undergrowth of thickets, 

 these insects chirp merrily. The note of the grass- 

 hopper is known everywhere, and in many districts 

 the short, sharp chirp of the hedge cricket ( Tham. 

 cinereus) may be heard in every thicket. Like 

 other crickets, it must be cautiously approached if 

 its song is to be closely observed. The chirp is a 

 slight " tsit," given at intervals of a few seconds, 

 and caused by a brief shuffling of the wing-cases 

 over each other. The sound is really a double one, 

 but sometimes it is a triple one. Another variation 

 is caused by the wing-cases remaining slightly dis- 



