The GRASSHOPPER WARBLER (_Locustella certhiola_ or _L. Rayii_) is from
four inches and three-quarters to five inches and a half long, and from
seven and a half to eight broad; the wing measures two inches and a half,
and the tail from one inch and five-sixths to two inches. Upon the upper
part of the body the plumage is olive grey or yellowish brown, decorated
with oval brownish-black spots; the throat is white, the upper breast
reddish yellow spotted with dark grey, the belly whitish or yellowish
white, somewhat deeper in hue at its sides; the lower tail-covers white,
with light brown spots upon the shafts; the quills are blackish brown,
with narrow yellowish-grey edges, which increase in breadth towards the
roots; the tail-feathers are of a deep greenish brown, striped with a
darker shade and surrounded by a light border; the eye is greyish brown,
the beak horn grey, and the foot light red. After the moulting season the
under side is yellower than before. In the young the breast is unspotted.
The Grasshopper Warbler is found throughout Central Europe and Central
Asia. In England it arrives about April and departs in September, and
during the course of its migrations wanders as far as China. Unlike most
of its congeners, this bird does not confine itself to any particular
situation, but occupies fields and woodland districts as frequently as
marshy tracts or brushwood. Everywhere, however, it seeks the shelter of
the densest foliage of the bushes, or creeps about close to the ground
beneath the overspreading leaves of plants growing by the water-side. In
both these situations it displays the utmost activity in evading pursuit;
if alarmed, the tail is brandished aloft, and the drooping wings agitated
from time to time; upon the ground it runs with ease, keeping the neck
outstretched forward, and the hinder portion of the body constantly in
motion. Its flight is rapid, light, and very irregular.
"Nothing can be more amusing," says Gilbert White, "than the whisper
of this little bird, which seems close by, though at a hundred yards'
distance; and when close to your ear is scarce louder than when a great
way off. Had I not been acquainted with insects, and known that the
grasshopper kind is not yet hatched, I should have hardly believed but
that it had been a _Locusta_ whispering in the bushes. The country people
laugh at you when you tell them that it is the note of a bird. It is a
most artful creature, skulking in the thickest part of a bush, and will
sing at a yard's distance, provided it be concealed. I was obliged to get
a person to go on the other side of a hedge where it haunted, and then it
would run creeping like a mouse before us for a hundred yards together,
through the bottom of the thorns, yet it would not come into fair sight;
but in a morning early, and when undisturbed, it sings on the top of a
twig, gaping and shivering with its wings."
The food of this species varies somewhat with the situation it occupies,
but is always of the same description as that employed by the other
members of the family. The nest, which is most carefully concealed in a
great diversity of situations, is neatly formed of green moss, or similar
materials, lined with fibres and horsehair. The eggs, from three to six
in number, are of a dull white or pale rose red, marked with reddish
or brownish spots, strewn most thickly over the broad end, and forming
occasionally a slight wreath. It is probable that both parents assist
in the process of incubation. In some seasons the Grasshopper Warbler
produces two broods, the first at the beginning of May and the second at
the end of June.
* * * * *
The BUSH WARBLERS (_Drymoicæ_) constitute a very extensive group, closely
allied to those above described. They are of small size, with short,
rounded wings, comparatively slender and more or less graduated tail,
and moderately large and powerful feet. The beak is of medium length,
compressed at its sides, slightly curved along the culmen; the plumage
is usually of sombre appearance. Various members of this group inhabit
all parts of the world, and alike frequent low brushwood, shrubs, reeds,
long grass, or beds of rushes. In all these situations they display
extraordinary agility, but their powers of flight are, without exception,
feeble and clumsy. In disposition they are sprightly, and very noisy,
although almost invariably without vocal talent. Beetles, worms, snails,
and grubs constitute their principal means of support. Their nests are
always remarkable for their great beauty, some species exhibiting great
artistic skill in their manner of _weaving_ their materials together,
while the most famous members of the group, the wonderful "Tailor Birds,"
literally sew leaves to each other, and employ them to enclose the actual
nest, or bed for the young.