The earliest of our summer visitants, coming by the end of March, but staying in the fields not longer than two or three weeks, when it moves off to the mountainous districts to breed. Very fond of placing its nest in deserted rabbit–holes, and in cavities in old stone walls.
The Grasshopper Warbler (Sylvia locustella), iii., 143.
No one who has heard this bird can ever forget it, the note resembling the voice of the grasshopper, but prolonged into a whirr, like the noise of a spinning–wheel. Towards midnight, when all other birds are still, if approached, it will begin. Found haunting thickets and hedge–bottoms, but rather uncommon, and rarely seen, though often heard, on account of its habit of running among the low brushwood.
The Sedge Warbler (Sylvia salicaria), iii., 145.
Common by the sides of pitsteads. This is the bird so often mistaken in our neighbourhood for the nightingale. No bird takes more care to let us know of its presence; the moment it is disturbed, it begins to sing.
The Black–cap Warbler (Sylvia atricapilla), iii., 150.
A most beautiful song–bird, and common in woods. When it arrives, it is fond of mounting high into the trees; the males, like most of the warblers, coming a week or two before the females, and selecting a station, where they sing until their mates arrive.
The Garden Warbler (Sylvia hortensis), iii., 152.
Unlike the preceding, this bird never gets up high into the trees to sing, nor does it care to warble until the female arrives, when its lovely trill is heard plentifully in the low bushes. It will build in gardens among peas. Common in Hough–end Clough and about Urmston.
The Common Whitethroat (Sylvia cinerea), iii., 153.