•■^^2 BRITISH BIRDS. 



always easy to judge of the dulance; but as much may be said of all 

 sounds. 1 doubt if it varie, much in the loudness of its note, which 

 sounds distant when the bird buries itself in the deep grass or other 

 foliage, and near when it runs up some stalk and takes a look round, as it 

 frequently does in early morning. 



It is certainly one of the most skulking birds which visit this country, 

 almo^t as much so as a Corncrake or a Water-Rail. It is rarely seen on 

 the wing, and seldom perches on a tree. I have followed it for hours 

 backwards and forwards from one clump of underwood to another, rarely 

 obtaining a sight of the bird, but always able to trace its whereabouts 

 from its song. Very often it left the underwood altogether and frequented 

 the long grass, and it was only occasionally that it was possible to see 

 the bird. So retiring is the Grasshopper Warbler in its habits, that were 

 it not for the peculiarity of its song it would be passed by without notice 

 by the great majority of naturalists. The song is first heard in Yorkshire 

 early in May ; but in the south of England the bird arrives somewhat 

 earlier at its breeding-quarters. Gilbert White gives the date as the 

 middle of April. It is consequently, if not the latest bird of passage to 

 arrive on our shores, one of the last batch of spring migrants. It by no 

 means confines itself to swampy places, and is equally abundant on dry 

 open commons amongst the furze bushes and in woods where there is 

 plenty of underwood. Occasionally it is also heard from the tall heather 

 on the grouse-moors. Whenever I have accidentally seen it on the wing 

 its flight has been very peculiar, what might be described as a frightened 

 flight, fluttering over every bush, descending into every hollow — appa- 

 rently anxious every moment to dive into some thick shelter, and con- 

 sequently always having its tail depressed and half-spread so as to be 

 ready to alight at a moment's notice as soon as an opportunity offered. 

 On the ground it runs like a Sandpiper, dodging in and out between the 

 clumps of grass with marvellous celerity. 



The Grasshopper Warbler is no doubt almost entirely insectivorous ; but 

 it probably regales itself in autumn on some of the soft fruits which 

 abound in the localities which it frequents, a practice common to most if 

 not all soft-billed birds. 



The following notes respecting this charming bird are from the pen of 

 my friend Mr. A. W. Johnson, who has had an excellent opportunity of 

 observing it in the neighbourhood of Newcastle : — " This interesting 

 AA^arbler is fairly abundant during the breeding-season within a radius of 

 fifteen miles of Newcastle ; and in a few favourite situations it is frequently 

 found in very considerable numbers. It is especially numerous in the 

 county of Durham, perhaps in no locality more so than in the warm and 

 sheltered valley of the Derwent. This valley in parts is well studded 

 with young plantations, where the undergrowth is thick and rank, the 



