GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 341 



he himself received from Shropshire, and described and figured in his 

 ' British Zoology 5 in 1766, under the name of the " Grasshopper Lark." 

 Two years later Gilbert White of Selborne sent Pennant a very inter- 

 esting and probably the first correct account published of the habits of 

 this bird ; but both the latter ornithologists had been forestalled in their 

 discoveries, not only by Willughby and Ray, but also by Brisson, who, 

 eight years previous to the last-mentioned date, described and figured an 

 unmistakable Grasshopper Warbler from an example obtained in France, 

 and then in the Museum of Mons. Cotelle, under the name of "La 

 Fauvette grise tachetee," a bird which must not be confounded with his 

 " Fauvette tachete'e " with a forked tail. 



The Grasshopper Warbler is a somewhat local bird in the British 

 Islands ; but there is probably no county in England, Wales, Ireland,"or 

 Scotland south of the Firth of Forth where it does not breed ; and in some 

 places it is found in considerable numbers. 



On the continent the range of this bird appears to be very restricted. 

 It is probably confined to Western Europe, is rare in Spain and Italy, but 

 more common in Xcrth Europe, south of the Baltic, from France to the 

 neighbourhood of St. Petersburg. It is said to be a winter visitor to 

 Morocco and Algeria ; but probably a few remain in these countries to 

 breed ; and a few are said to remain during winter in Spain. It has not 

 been recorded from Turkey. Greece, or Asia Minor, nor does it appear to 

 visit Eastern Africa ; but it is found to the south-east as far as Transyl- 

 vania, and occasionally in South-west Russia. In Siberia (and, it is said, 

 as far west as St. Petersburg) it is replaced by a nearly allied species or 

 subspecies L. lanceolata, whose range extends across Siberia to the Amoor, 

 and possibly to China. A still more nearly allied form, L. straminea 

 (miscalled by many ornithologists L. hendersoni), is principally confined 

 to Turkestan during the breeding-season ; but its range appears to extend 

 northwards as far as Ekatereenburg, where it touches the range of 

 L. lanceolata. It is probable that the latter form may interbreed with 

 both its near allies, as intermediate forms sometimes occur which it is 

 very difficult to determine. 



The chief point of interest in the Grasshopper Warbler is its song. 

 This exactly resembles the note of the grasshopper, except that it is slightly 

 louder, not quite so shrill, and somewhat steadier and more prolonged. 

 It is a rapid trill, absolutely monotonous, and is continued from a quarter 

 of a minute sometimes to a couple of minutes without cessation. The 

 Grasshopper Warbler is said to have ventriloqual powers ; but I have 

 never notice^ any thing of the kind, though the bird is common enough 

 in the neighbourhood of Sheffield, and I have listened to its song at all 

 hours, from before dawn to long after sunset. I have never had the 

 slightest difficulty in following the direction of the sound. It is not 



