THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 115 



confinement, so that it is permitted to sing its song 

 in the wild and pleasant scenes of nature. 



The Grasshopper Warbler,* oi' Grasshopper Lark 

 {Salicaria locusteUa), is not, nke our sedge-birds, 

 an aquatic species, but, haunting the brambles and 

 underwood of low damp situations, it is some- 

 times found not far from their abodes, though by 

 no means confined to moist lands. This species is 

 also called Cricket-bird, Brakehopper, Grass- 

 hopper, Chirper, and also Rattlesnake bird. All 

 these names refer to the peculiar sounds of its notes, 

 which resemble sometimes the cry of the mole- 

 cricket, and at others the rattle of the formidable 

 reptile of hotter regions ; though, as Mr. Blyth 

 has remarked, it is difficult to imagine how the 

 latter should be sufficiently well known in Eng- 

 land to give rise to a provincial name. One 

 would think from the variety of its country ap- 

 pellations, that this was a familiar and frequent 

 bird ; yet it is not so, for it is not only very local 

 in its liaunts, but so shy in its habits that it is 



* The Grasshopper Warbler is five inches and a half in length. 

 Upper parts greenish-brown, clouded (except on the tail) Avith 

 blackish spots ; under parts pale brown, spotted on the breast 

 with darker brown. The tips of the tail-feathers are pointed. 



