200 Booth: Nesting of the Grasshopper Warbler. 
NOTES ON ‘ REELING,’ BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER 
NESTING OPERATIONS. 
May oth, Grasshopper Warbler heard 6-30 p.m., ‘ reeling ’ 
persistently ; May 11th, 7-0 p.m. to 8-0 p.m. (raining) ‘ reeling ’ 
persistently ; May 12th, 7-0 p.m. to 7-30 p.m. ‘ reeling ’ per- 
sistently ; May 13th, passed and within hearing about quarter 
of an hour, about g-O p.m. not heard. May 16th, 6-30 a.m. 
to I1-30 a.m., ‘ reeling’ persistently during morning ; about 
g-O a.m. first noticed it skirmishing about with another bird. 
I could never get a satisfactory view of both birds together, 
but gave me impression they were both Grasshopper Warblers. 
After it had been thus chasing the other bird it commenced to 
‘reel’ spreading out and shivering its wings, showing plainly 
it was then paying attentions to the female. In the afternoon 
of the same day the bird was still ‘ reeling ’ well, but with much 
longer intervals (would generally start if a motor cycle or car 
mounted the hill close by) and in the evening it never ‘ reeled ’ 
once during over an hour’s time. From this time onwards, until 
after the young were fledged and had left the nest, the bird was 
never heard to ‘reel’ again. Once, when both birds were 
together during building operations, I heard a very faint imita- 
tion of the ‘ reel,’ more like a ‘ purr’ than a ‘reel,’ however, 
of about, at a guess, 8 to 10 seconds’ duration ; this only heard 
once. Nor was any call or alarm noticed until the young birds 
were within a few days of leaving the nest, when the bird used 
a sharp single metallic ‘click’ note somewhat resembling 
alarm note of Tree and Meadow Pipits or ‘ Sip ’ note of Throstle 
or even the metallic note used by the Tits, like them all some- 
what, but still possessing a distinct character of its own. I 
got a very close imitation by placing on my fingers in a cutting 
position a substantial pair of waistcoat pocket-scissors, and 
bringing the handles together sharply, the click produced 
almost exactly resembling its note, differing mostly in one 
being a tapping sound and the other produced by quick emit- 
tence of air, giving a throaty sound like that heard in ‘ pink’ of 
Chaffinch. After the second brood had just left the nest, the 
bird, I think the female, was giving another cry, a kind of 
jarring, rattling series of notes, again like a Throstle will use 
occasionally ; a dull sounding, coarse series of notes, somewhat 
suggesting the Brown Wren. These it uttered very persist- 
ently and was evidently in a high state of excitement. The 
following are the times I was about the —_ and never heard 
any ‘ reeling * :— 
May 21st and 22nd, half hour each. 
May 23rd, Five and a quarter hours from 6-15 a.m. to 
II-30 a.m. (fine and sunny). 
May 24th, three and a half hours, from 5-0 a.m. to 8-30 a.m., 
(fine and sunny). 
Naturalist, 
