210 
THE SEDGE WARBLER 
but in a morning early, and when undisturbed, it sings on the top of a twig, gaping and shiv- 
ering with its wings.” 
I can corroborate this account by personal experience of the bird, and generally found 
that the country people entirely denied that the strange hissing whistle was that of a bird, and 
attributed it to the field-mouse. The ventriloquial power (if it may so be termed) is as 
remarkable as in the case of the common grasshopper, for it is almost impossible to ascertain 
from the sound the distance or even the direction of the creature which utters it. 
The nest of the Grasshopper AY arbler is cup-shaped, and made of various kinds of grasses, 
the coarser being woven round the circumference, and the finer placed in the centre. It is 
so admirably hidden that it is discovered less frequently than that of any other warbler. In 
all my bird-hunting days, I was never fortunate enough to secure an egg of the Grasshopper 
T\ arbler, although the bird was far from uncommon. A large patch of furze is a favorite 
locality for the nest, and the bird hides it so ingeniously among the thick roots of the prickly 
shelter, that even when the bird is watched to its home, its discovery is a matter of very great 
difficulty. The eggs are from five to seven in number, and their color is reddish-white, speckled 
with dark red spots. 
The general color of the Grasshopper Warbler is greenish-brown, each feather being 
brown in the centre and green at the edges, so that its whole aspect presents rather a spotty or 
mottled appearance. The under surface is pale brown, diversified with some dark spots on 
the neck and breast. The total length of the bird is about five inches and a half. 
The generic title of Calamodyta, which has been given to the grasshopper Warbler and 
the Sedge W arbler, signifies a diver into reeds, and has been 
attributed to these birds in consequence of their habit of diving 
abruptly among the herbage whenever they are alarmed. 
The Sedge Warbler arrives in this country about the same 
time as the last-mentioned species, and immediately 
repairs to the low-lying spots where it can find that 
peculiar herbage that grows near water. Sedges, 
reeds, rushes and willows are its favorite resorts, 
and upon the branches of the last- mentioned tree 
this Warbler may be observed, on the rare occasions 
when it deigns to present itself in full view. In such 
localities it conceals itself most effectually, and 
although it pours forth its pleasant song with great 
fluency, prefers to remain secluded in the thick 
foliage of its home. On one or two occasions, while 
sitting in a boat drawn among the thick reeds that 
are found in rivers, I have both seen and heard this 
interesting little creature, and noticed that it sel- 
dom shows itself within six or seven inches of the 
reed tops. By remaining perfectly quiet, a careful 
observer may note the peculiar fitful movements of 
the Sedge Warbler, as it dives among the reeds, and 
ever and anon shows itself in small open space, only 
to disappear the next moment. 
The song of the Sedge Warbler is not powerful, 
but is very constantly uttered. It may be heard 
to the best advantage in the early morning and the dusk of the evening, and, like that 
of the nightingale, is often prolonged far into the hours of darkness. The strain is quick, and 
has a peculiar guttural sound that is quite indescribable in words.- 
The structure of the nest and its position are extremely variable, according to the locality 
in which the bird dwells. Generally the nest is composed of moss and various fibres, the 
finest being always worked into the centre ho as to form a warm bed for the nest and young. 
SEDGE WARBLER . — Acrocephdlus phragmitis. 
