WARBLERS. 499 



by the feathers of the forehead being short and rounded, instead of disintegrated 

 and with elongated shafts. Moreover, there are no hairs or bristles on the forehead, 

 with the exception of the ordinary ones at the rictus of the gape. In this particular 

 genus of the group, displaying the above characters, the first primary quill of the 

 wing is much less than one-third the length of the second, while the rictal bristles 

 are strongly developed, and the tail is but slightly graduated. The reed-warbler 

 {Acrocephalus streperus) is an annual visitor to most parts of temperate Europe, 

 arriving in April and May, and generally taking up its abode in extensive morasses. 

 The nest is a singularly beautiful structure, built in the middle of a wood a long 

 way from water ; one which we found was composed of delicate green moss ; while 

 another from Romney Marsh was almost wholly constructed of sheep's wool. The 

 eggs are greenish white in ground-colour, clouded or freckled with dark olive. The 

 song of this warbler is rich and much varied. The adult male in spring has the 

 upper-parts rufous brown, the colour being most pronounced upon the rump and 

 upper tail-coverts, while the chin and throat are dull white, and the breast and 

 flanks pale buff. 



The sedge- warbler (A. schoenoboenus), shown on the left figure on p. 501, is 

 common in many parts of Europe, arriving in April from North Africa, and 

 speedily taking up its residence in some suitable haunt, generally a scrub near 

 the waterside. It generally departs again for the south in September, wintering 

 in Africa. Its song is loud and varied, and often delivered during the stillness 

 of a summer night. The nest is a slight structure, of dry stems without any 

 lining, or of dry stems and a little green moss, lined with the feathers of the 

 gadwall. The eggs are yellowish brown. The adult male in spring has the 

 upper-parts rusty russet-brown, with dark centres to the feathers, the eyestripe 

 being huffish white ; while the wings and tail are brown, and the under-parts 

 buffish white. 

 Grasshopper- Nearly allied to the last, the grasshopper- warblers (Locustella), 



warbler. f -which there are some eight species, may be distinguished by the 

 smaller development of the rictal bristles, as well as by the more markedly 

 graduated tail, in which the outermost feathers are less than three-fourths the 

 total length. They derive their name from their peculiar chirping notes. The 

 grasshopper-warbler (L. ncBvia) is a regular but local summer visitant to Europe, 

 arriving in Britain in the month of April in small flocks which soon break up, each 

 pair taking up its residence in some sequestered nook either on a heath on the 

 margin of large woods or in the bottom of a deep hedge. On its first arrival 

 the hedges are generally bare or nearly so, a circumstance which naturally 

 facilitates the observation of the movements of this shy bird. Both the male and 

 female sing, but most of the ventriloquising efforts proceed from the male bird. 

 The grasshopper-warbler sings its curious song principally during the early hours 

 of day and shortly before dusk, although it would be a mistake to suppose that 

 it does not sing at other times, for it often sings lustily in the middle of the day. 

 The nest is cunningly concealed in thick herbage ; the best plan of discovering 

 its whereabouts being to visit the spot, which the birds are known to frequent, 

 shortly before sunset. If every likely corner be thus explored with the aid of 

 a long stick, the female will almost certainly be detected in the act of slipping 



