BIRDS IN A VILLAGE 89 



like note of this warbler — cicada, rattlesnake, and 

 some batrachians. Some grasshoppers perhaps 

 come nearest to it; but the most sustained current 

 of sound emitted by the insect is short compared 

 to the warbler's strain, also the vibrations are 

 very much more rapid, and not heard as vibra- 

 tions, and the same effect is not produced. 



The grasshopper warblers gave me so much 

 pleasure that I was often at the spot where they 

 had their little colony of about half-a-dozen pairs, 

 and where I discovered they bred every year. At 

 first I used to go to any bush where I had caught 

 sight of a bird and sit down within a few yards 

 of it and wait until the little hideling's shyness 

 wore off, and he would come out and start reel- 

 ing. Afterwards I always went straight to the 

 same bush, because I thought the bird that used 

 it as his singing-place appeared less shy than the 

 others. One day I spent a long time listening to 

 this favourite; delightedly watching him, perched 

 on a low twig on a level with my sight, and not 

 more than five yards from me; his body per- 

 fectly motionless, but the head and wide-open 

 beak jerked from side to side in a measured, 

 mechanical way. I had a side view of the bird, 



