6 ? 
Perching Birds. 
The Grasshopper- Warbler. 
is beyond doubt, the nests and 
eggs having been taken on several 
occasions. The Marsh-Warbler has 
almost identically the same breed- 
ing-range as the Reed-Warbler, 
and winters in Africa, going, how- 
ever, much further to the south 
than A. streperus, and occurring in 
South-eastern Africa. It is said to 
have a far superior song to that of 
the Reed -Warbler, and to frequent 
trees and bushes, rather than the 
river-side or the marshes. The 
nest is placed in bushes, often far 
away from water, and the eggs are 
white with greenish brown spots 
and blotches, with some purplish 
black spots always in evidence, 
while the underlying spots of pur- 
plish or violet-grey are always strongly indicated. 
This dull-coloured little Warbler is a summer visitor to 
THE GRASSHOI PER- Great Britain, but is one of the most difficult to observe, as 
WARBLER. ... . 
r ,, . it is an inveterate skulker, and even when its presence is 
(Locustella ncevia.) 
betrayed by its note, the latter is so ventriloquial 
that the finding of the nest is not an easy problem to -solve. The Grasshopper- 
Warbler is to be distinguished by its olive-brown upper surface, striped with 
blackish, and by its very graduated tail, in which the outer tail-feathers are very 
much shorter than the centre ones, while the under tail-coverts are exceptionally 
long, buffy white in colour, with dark centres. Its nest is always difficult 
to find and is generally placed on or close to the ground, as a rule closely 
concealed and approached by a ‘ run ’ or narrow passage like that of a 
mouse. Its song is unmistakable when once heard, and is like a long- 
continued note of a grasshopper, but is of course much more powerful, and 
has a curious ventriloquial effect, seeming to come from one point of the 
compass after another. The eggs are from four to seven in number, and 
are easily recognisable, as their general tone is pinkish, sprinkled all over with 
reddish-brown and grey dots. 
SAVI’S WARBLER. 
Warbler, but is not spotted on the back, which is uniform like that of the Reed- 
