GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 48 
Sus-FamMity ACROCHEPHALINAL. 
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 
Locustretia Na@via, Bodd. 
Pl. VIIL., figs. 19, 20. 
Geogr. distr.—Central Europe; occurring as far north as Scotland 
in Summer; here it is more local than in England, where it breeds in 
every county, as also in all suitable localities in Ireland and Wales. 
Food.—Snails, slugs, worms, larve, and insects. 
Nest.—Cup-shaped ; strongly and neatly formed of grass-bents and 
moss, with occasionally a few leaves ; lined with finer bents. 
Position of nest.—On the ground, carefully concealed in herbage in 
bush-covered localities and hedges. 
Number of eggs.—5-6; rarely 7. 
Time of nidrfication.—V-VI. 
The nest of the Grasshopper Warbler is difficult to find, 
as it is usually placed deep down in the centre of a tuft of 
coarse grass, so that there is nothing externally to show 
that the tuft has been thus taken possession of; when 
disturbed the hen bird slips quietly out of the tuft, and 
works its way through the surrounding herbage. In the 
early days of my collecting I remember to have observed 
this trick, and to have wondered that I could not find the 
nest ; the reason was simply that I did not go deep enough 
for it: this nest has, however, been discovered at the 
bottom of a ditch overgrown by coarse grass and the 
prickly branches of a whin-bush, through which the bird 
was seen to enter: all of this had to be removed before 
the prize could be taken possession of. 
