Birds in London

CHAPTER IV. The London Daw

THE LONDON DAW

Rarity of the daw in London--Pigeons and daws compared--Æsthetic value of the daw as a cathedral bird--Kensington Palace daws; their disposition and habits--Friendship with rooks--Wandering daws at Clissold Park--Solitary daws--Mr. Mark Melford's birds--Rescue of a hundred daws--The strange history of an egg-stealing daw--White daws--White ravens--Willughby's speculations--A suggestion 52

CHAPTER V. Expulsion of the Rooks

EXPULSION OF THE ROOKS

Positions of the rook and crow compared--Gray's Inn Gardens rookery--Break-up of the old, and futile attempt of the birds to establish new rookeries--The rooks a great loss to London--Why the rook is esteemed--Incidents in the life of a tame rook--A first sight of the Kensington Gardens rookery--The true history of the expulsion of the rooks--A desolate scene, and a vision of London beautified 68

CHAPTER VI. Recent Colonists

RECENT COLONISTS

The wood-pigeon in Kensington Gardens--Its increase--Its beauty and charm--Perching on Shakespeare's statue in Leicester Square--Change of habits--The moorhen--Its appearance and habits--An æsthetic bird--Its increase--The dabchick in London--Its increase--Appearance and habits--At Clissold Park--The stock-dove in London 89

CHAPTER VII. London's Little Birds

LONDON'S LITTLE BIRDS

Number of species, common and uncommon--The London sparrow--His predominance, hardiness, and intelligence--A pet sparrow--Breeding irregularities--A love-sick bird--Sparrow shindies: their probable cause--'Sparrow chapels'--Evening in the parks--The starling--His independence--Characteristics--Blackbird, thrush, and robin--White blackbirds--The robin--Decrease in London--Habits and disposition 104

CHAPTER VIII. Movements of London Birds

MOVEMENTS OF LONDON BIRDS

Migration as seen in London--Swallows in the parks--Fieldfares--A flock of wild geese--Autumn movements of resident species--Wood-pigeons--A curious habit--Dabchicks and moorhens--Crows and rooks--The Palace daws--Starlings--Robins--A Tower robin and the Tower sparrows--Passage birds in the parks--Small birds wintering in London--Influx of birds during severe frosts--Occasional visitors--The black-headed gull--A winter scene in St. James's Park 129

CHAPTER IX. A Survey of the Parks: West London

A SURVEY OF THE PARKS: WEST LONDON

A general survey of the metropolitan parks--West London--Central parks, with Holland Park--A bird's highway--Decrease of songsters--The thrush in Kensington Gardens--Suggestions--Owls in Kensington Gardens--Other West London open spaces--Ravenscourt Park as it was and as it is 151

CHAPTER X. North-West and North London

NORTH-WEST AND NORTH LONDON

Open spaces on the borders of West London--The Scrubs, Old Oak Common, and Kensal Green Cemetery--North-west district--Paddington Recreation Ground, Kilburn Park, and adjoining open spaces--Regent's Park described--Attractive to birds, but not safe--Hampstead Heath: its character and bird life--The ponds--A pair of moorhens--An improvement suggested--North London districts--Highgate Woods, Churchyard Bottom Wood, Waterlow Park, and Highgate Cemetery--Finsbury Park--A paradise of thrushes--Clissold Park and Abney Park Cemetery 171

CHAPTER XI. East London

EAST LONDON

Condition of the East district--Large circular group of open spaces--Hackney Downs and London Fields--Victoria Park with Hackney Common--Smoky atmosphere--Bird life--Lakes--An improvement suggested--Chaffinch fanciers--Hackney Marsh with North and South Mill Fields--Unique character of the Marsh--White House Fishery--The vanished sporting times--Anecdotes--Collection of rare birds--A region of marshes--Wanstead Old Park--Woodland character--Bird life--Heronry and rookery--A suggestion 192

CHAPTER XII. South-East London

SOUTH-EAST LONDON

General survey of South London--South-east London: its most populous portion--Three small open spaces--Camberwell New Park--Southwark Park--Kennington Park--Fine shrubberies--Greenwich Park and Blackheath--A stately and depressing park--Mutilated trees--The extreme East--Bostell Woods and Heath--Their peculiar charm--Woolwich and Plumstead Commons--Hilly Fields--Peckham Rye and Park--A remonstrance--Nunhead and Camberwell Cemeteries--Dulwich Park--Brockwell Park--The rookery 216

CHAPTER XIII. South-West London

SOUTH-WEST LONDON

Introductory remarks--Comparative large extent of public ground in South-west London--Battersea Park--Character and popularity--Bird life--Clapham Common: its present and past character--Wandsworth Common--The yellowhammer--Tooting Common--Tooting Bec--Questionable improvements--A passion for swans--Tooting Graveney--Streatham Common--Bird life--Magpies--Rookery--Bishop's Park, Fulham--A suggestion--Barn Elms Park--Barnes Common--A burial-ground--Birds--Putney Heath, Lower Putney Common, and Wimbledon Common--Description--Bird life--Rookeries--The badger--Richmond Park--Its vast extent and character--Bird life--Daws--Herons--The charm of large soaring birds--Kew Gardens--List of birds--Unfavourable changes--The Queen's private grounds 237

CHAPTER XIV. Protection of Birds in the Parks

PROTECTION OF BIRDS IN THE PARKS

Object of this book--Summary of facts contained in previous chapters--An incidental result of changes in progress--Some degree of protection in all the open spaces, efficient protection in none--Mischievous visitors to the parks--Bird fanciers and stealers--The destructive rough--The barbarians are few--Two incidents at Clissold Park--Love of birds a common feeling of the people 270

CHAPTER XV. The Cat Question

THE CAT QUESTION

The cat's unchangeable character--A check on the sparrows--Number of sparrows in London--What becomes of the annual increase--No natural check on the park sparrows--Cats in the parks--Story of a cat at Battersea Park--Rabbits destroyed by cats in Hyde Park--Number of cats in London--Ownerless cats--Their miserable condition--How cats are made ownerless--How this evil may be remedied--How to keep cats out of the parks 284

CHAPTER XVI. Birds for London

BIRDS FOR LONDON

Restoration of the rook--The Gray's Inn rookery--Suggestions--On attracting rooks--Temple Gardens rookery--Attempt to establish a rookery at Clissold Park--A new colony of daws--Hawks--Domestic pigeons--An abuse--Stock-dove and turtle-dove--Ornamental water-fowl, pinioned and unpinioned--Suggestions--Wild water-fowl in the parks--Small birds for London--Missel-thrush--Nuthatch--Wren--Loudness a merit--Summer visitants to London--Kingfisher--Hard-billed birds--A use for the park sparrows--Natural checks--A sanctuary described 304

BIBLIOGRAPHY 330

INDEX 331

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES

'THE CROW WITH HIS VOICE OF CARE' Frontispiece

'THE SEVEN SISTERS' to face p. 24

CARRION CROW'S NEST " 34

PIGEONS AT THE LAW COURTS " 52

WOOD-PIGEON ON SHAKESPEARE'S STATUE " 92

LOVE-SICK COCK SPARROW " 112

FEEDING THE GULLS AT ST. JAMES'S PARK " 148

MAP OF LONDON " 156

VIEW ON HAMPSTEAD HEATH " 176

WHITE HOUSE FISHERY, HACKNEY MARSH " 206

WANSTEAD OLD PARK: EARLY SPRING " 214

BOSTELL HEATH AND WOODS " 226

THE ROOKERY, BROCKWELL PARK " 234

WIMBLEDON COMMON " 256

NEST OF CHAFFINCH " 280

PARK SPARROWS " 290

MOORHEN AND CHICKS " 316

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

PAGE PARK SPARROW BEGGING 11

THE LAST RAVEN 21

THE LADY AND THE DAW 60

LONDON CROWS 69

DABCHICK ON NEST 99

LONDON STARLINGS 119

FIELDFARES AT THE TOWER 131

WOOD-PIGEON FEEDING ON HAWS 136

RAVENSCOURT PARK 153

CORMORANTS AT ST. JAMES'S PARK 170

DABCHICK FEEDING ITS YOUNG 189

NIGHTINGALE ON ITS NEST 249

CHAFFINCH 271

STARLING AT HOME 303

DABCHICK'S FLOATING NEST: ST. JAMES'S PARK 329

BIRDS IN LONDON

CHAPTER I. The Birds and the Book

THE BIRDS AND THE BOOK

A handbook of London birds considered--Reasons for not writing it--Changes in the character of the wild bird population, and supposed cause--The London sparrow--Its abundance--Bread-begging habits--Monotony--Its best appearance--Beautiful finches--Value of open spaces--The sparrows' afternoon tea in Hyde Park--Purpose of this book.

Among the many little schemes and more or less good intentions which have flitted about my brain like summer flies in a room, there was one for a small volume on London birds; to contain, for principal matter, lists of the species resident throughout the year, of the visitants, regular and occasional, and of the vanished species which have inhabited the metropolis in recent, former, or historical times. For everyone, even the veriest Dryasdust among us, has some glow of poetic feeling in him, some lingering regret for the beautiful that has vanished and returneth not; consequently, it would be hard in treating of London bird life not to go back to times which now seem very ancient, when the kite was common--the city's soaring scavenger, protected by law, just as the infinitely less attractive turkey-buzzard is now protected in some towns of the western world. Again, thanks to Mr. Harting's researches into old records, we have the account of beautiful white spoonbills, associated with herons, building their nests on the tree-tops in the Bishop of London's grounds at Fulham.

To leave this fascinating theme. It struck me at first that the book vaguely contemplated might be made useful to lovers and students of bird life in London; and I was also encouraged by the thought that the considerable amount of printed material which exists relating to the subject would make the task of writing it comparatively easy.

But I no sooner looked attentively into the subject than I saw how difficult it really was, and how unsatisfactory, and I might almost add useless, the work would prove.

To begin with, what is London? It is a very big town, a 'province covered with houses'; but for the ornithologist where, on any side, does the province end? Does it end five miles south of Charing Cross, at Sydenham, or ten miles further afield, at Downe? Or, looking north, do we draw the line at Hampstead, or Aldenham? The whole metropolitan area has, let us say, a circumference of about ninety miles, and within its outermost irregular boundary there is room for half a dozen concentric lines, each of which will contain a London, differing greatly in size and, in a much less degree, in character. If the list be made to include all the birds found in such rural and even wild places--woods, thickets, heaths, and marshes--as exist within a sixteen-mile radius, it is clear that most of the inland species found in the counties of Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, and Essex would be in it.

The fact is, in drawing up a list of London birds, the writer can, within limits, make it as long or short as he thinks proper. Thus, if he wishes to have a long list, and is partial to round numbers, he will be able to get a century of species by making his own twelve or thirteen mile radius. Should he then alter his mind, and think that a modest fifty would content him, all he would have to do to get that number would be to contract his line, bringing it somewhere near the indeterminate borders of inner London, where town and country mix or pass into each other. Now a handbook written on this plan would be useful only if a very exact boundary were drawn, and the precise locality given in which each resident or breeding species had its haunts, where the student or lover of birds could watch or listen for it with some chance of being rewarded. Even so, the book would not serve its purpose for a longer period than two or three years; after three years it would most certainly be out of date, so great and continuous is the growth of London on all sides. Thus, going round London, keeping to that partly green indeterminate borderland already mentioned, there are many little hidden rustic spots where in the summer of 1897 the woodpecker, green and spotted, and the nuthatch and tree-creeper bred; also the nightingale, bottle-tit, and wryneck, and jay and crow, and kestrel and white and brown owl; but who can say that they will breed in the same places in 1899, or even in 1898? For these little green rustic refuges are situated on the lower slopes of a volcano, which is always in a state of eruption, and year by year they are being burnt up and obliterated by ashes and lava.

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