View allAll Photos Tagged grasshopper
The high, insect-like reeling song of the grasshopper warbler is the best clue to its presence. Even when you hear one it can be difficult to locate it due to the ventriloquial effect of its singing. If seen on migration it moves like a little mouse, creeping through the foliage. Dramatic population declines have made this a Red List species.
Coaxed it onto my fingers for a few quick shots to show its size, them put it back in the sunflowers. I know many consider them garden pests, but I don't mind them. And, if they aren't quick, they become wren food... Andover, NJ
Harmless to folks and crops and too heavy to fly...just scary looking.
"Brachystola magna, the plains lubber grasshopper, western lubber grasshopper or homesteader, is a large species of grasshopper in the family Romaleidae, native to open and semi-open habitats of central and southern United States and northern Mexico.
Adults are typically 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) long, with females growing larger than males.[ It is reddish brown with black dots on its outer wings, however there is some variation in coloration, with more northern variants tending to be greener, and southern ones more brownish-buff. Brachystola magna has extremely small wings and is unable to fly. The antennae are bluish-brown and the legs are reddish near the body with purple tarsi. It has a ridge along the upper and middle region of the abdomen. It is distinguished from Brachystola virescens by its longer antennae and color.
In Wyoming it is found on gravelly ground in the southwest of the state. It does not cause significant damage to crops, and seems to prefer coarse broadleaved plants to crops. It overwinters in the egg, which hatch in the spring and reach adulthood in August.
Walter Sutton's description of reduction division was based on studying the spermatocytes of Brachystola magna. This work was critical in the development of the chromosome theory of inheritance." Wikipedia
A visit to Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve, a Hawk & Owl Trust reserve today. Didn't see any Hawks or Owls, or much bird life at all for that matter. But there were plenty of smaller critters in abundance today though, Butterflies, Dragonflies and this lovely Grasshopper sat and posed graciously for me for quite a while, enabling me to get a reasonable shot.
Found at La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. Heredia Province, Costa Rica.
Presumably a Monkey Grasshopper, family Eumastacidae. ID help appreciated.
Single exposure, uncropped, handheld, in situ. Canon MT-24EX flash unit, Ian McConnachie diffuser.
A Texan was riding a cab in Sidney. He and the driver are soon crossing the Sydney Harbor bridge, and the passenger is unimpressed -- "I have a duck pond bigger than that harbor, and an ornamental bridge to span it that makes this look like a toy." The Sydney-Newcastle expressway also gets his scorn -- "Is this a road, or a track?" So when a kangaroo jumped out in front of the cab, causing the sudden and severe application of the brakes, the driver couldn't help himself -- "Stupid grasshoppers!"
I posted a Goldcrest this morning where I talked about the difficulty of older ears being able to hear birds like Grasshopper Warbler. Then this afternoon, as if I had to prove that my ears were still high-functioning, I heard a Grasshopper Warbler singing. I managed to creep closer and take this photograph of him singing. It also reminded me of something that happened to me many years ago. I was with an RSPB warden on his wetland reserve when a Locustella warbler gave a brief burst of song. As quick as a flash he said "Savi's Warbler", and he was right. I asked him how he managed to be so certain on hearing such a short snatch of its song, and he replied "I can no longer hear Grasshopper Warbler so I knew this must be Savi's". To my ears Savi's Warbler has a slight Nightjar quality about it whereas I would never think that Grasshopper Warbler and Nightjar were similar.
First I've seen this year. It was like a coiled spring! Ready to ping off at any moment, and as I edged closed, so it leaned further back!
Shawbury Heath - Shropshire
Thanks to David W for the ID of Common green - Omocestus viridulus
I was trying to find these today for my young Nephew. We only found four. Usually there are hundreds.
Cannock Chase 16th August 2016
Grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia)
Meaning behind the name:
Locustella = Latin referring to a form of Grasshopper (named by it's Grasshopper type reeling song)
naevia = Latin meaning "Spotted, marked, blemish" (refers to it's spotted underparts)
The English name was formerly "Titlark" and saying that "the bird sings like a Grasshopper" in 1678 before it was adapted to "Grasshopper lark" in 1768 and extended this further with "warbler" in 1773-1776 till finally as "Grasshopper warbler" 1783.
***
A grasshopper finds itself in a concrete jungle--on a cement block supporting an iron gate, ouside a café on the street, nowhere near any grass.
Photographed September 15, 2019.
A furtive bird of open grasslands, the Grasshopper Sparrow takes its name not only from its diet, but also from its insect-like song. It is found during the breeding season across much of the eastern United States and Great Plains, nesting and feeding mostly on the ground
From Wiki:
The global population of grasshopper sparrows in 2016 was estimated to be around 31,000,000 by the PIF North America Landbird Conservation Plan. It was also estimated that the population had undergone a 68% decrease between the years 1970 and 2014 with an annual decline of about 2.59%. The 2022 State of the Birds reported a long-term, range-wide decline of 2.13% per year, and a more recent decline of 3.48% per year. The leading cause of population decline across its range is linked to habitat loss and management, particularly conversion of grasslands to intensive agriculture and encroachment of shrubs and trees. Despite declining population sizes, grasshopper sparrows are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN and are also not included as a "Bird of Conservation Concern" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) on a national level. The Florida grasshopper sparrow subspecies (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus) is classified as endangered by the USFW.[48] This subspecies hit an all time population low of 15 breeding pairs in 2017, and reported a population of 120 in 2022.