Birds. 941 



so, it flew against the pane, presenting its legs and breast foremost ; after this it im- 

 mediately returned to its former stand ; from thence it ran directly into the gutter, 

 calling its mate, which was on the top of the roof. All of a sudden it stopped, and 

 turning round, went off to the window, against which it dashed, as it had done before, 

 and then took its former station in the water-pipe, which was very muddy. The bird 

 continued these manoeuvres till, being tired of watching its motions, I left it to itself. 

 Next morning, being curious to learn whether the wagtail was repeating its former 

 evolutions, I went up, and, as I half expected, instantly heard the beating on the 

 window : on nearing the spot, I saw that, from flying from the dirty gutter to the 

 glass pane, the bird had so besmeared it with loam, as to render it utterly impossible 

 to discover anything through it. I opened the window, on which the wagtail imme- 

 diately took to its wings, and alighted on the grass plot before the house ; I had, how- 

 ever not closed it five minutes, before my Motacilla returned to its habitual occupa- 

 tion. Every morning for about a month were these proceedings continued, when the 

 bird disappeared, and has since no more been seen. The motives as yet hinted at as 

 solutious to this problem, are not satisfactory, as, in this case, the bird had a mate, 

 and had so dirtied the pane, that it would have been impossible for it to discern any- 

 thing in the shape of an insect through it. Besides, I think that any bird (except for 

 amusement's sake, as parrots swing themselves) in pursuit of either of these objects, 

 would hurt or disable itself in such a way as not to be willing to recommence the trial, 

 at the risk of dashing itself to death against a hard surface. — /. Dcby ; Lacken, 

 February 3, 1845. 



Nest of the Grasshopper Warbler. Having, in 1835, and twice since, found the 

 nest of the grasshopper warbler, I am enabled to give the following particulars of the 

 nidification and habits of that skulking bird. The first nest was about the middle of 

 a small plantation of four or five years' growth. Out of a tuft of grass, overarched by 

 a bramble, and containing a small plant of whitethorn, 1 observed something hop, as 

 it were, and immediately drop into the herbage. I examined the tuft, in hopes of 

 finding a nest of something or other ; but a careful search resulted in nothing but 

 disappointment. In the course of the day I returned to the spot — there was the same 

 hop and away — but the motion was so short and quick, that I could not even then 

 distinguish whether I had seen a bird or a mouse. I repeated my search for a nest, 

 but with no better success than before. I then sat down by the spot to watch if any- 

 thing would approach, and it was not long before I observed the grass move, and a 

 veritable Sylvia locustella (threading its way through the grass) approached within 

 arm's length of me; but after eyeing me for a moment, it commenced a retreat. 

 Feeling confident there must be a nest, I took my knife, and carefully cut away the 

 herbage near the tuft, and then proceeded with the tuft itself; in the very centre of 

 which, and in a depression of the ground, I found the object of my search ; but to the 

 very last there was not the slightest appearance of ingress or egress. I was so struck 

 with what I had witnessed, that I again sat down, and ever and anon the same 

 stealthy movements to and fro were repeated. The male bird appeared very shy, and 

 only once approached, and then not nearer than eight or ten yards : it perched on a 

 twig just above the ground, and for a while kept up a harsh grating noise, but soon 

 disappeared, and I saw it no more. The female uttered no cry. The other two nests 

 I detected in the same manner, in small open places in an extensive wood : their 

 situations were exactly alike, being in the centres of two very large tufts of coarse 

 grass, at a depth of fourteen or fifteen inches (about the same depth as the first nest) 



