72 NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



wild birds, especially those that frequent the neighbourhood of water. 

 The universal protection given to them leads them to have no fear of 

 mankind, and the many new lakes and reservoirs, such as the West 

 Middlesex reservoir, near Ranelagh, provide them with their natural hunting and 

 nesting places. The parks, too, afford perfectly safe homes for many birds. For 

 instance, the wood-pigeon — quite a different bird from the tame pigeons of 

 St. Paul's — now abounds in many parks, and is becoming almost domesticated. 

 It is even changing its habits, and now builds on chimneys and roof cornices. 

 Then, to go back to water-birds, on the Serpentine and the ponds in St James's 

 Park, are not only wild ducks and water-hens, but the coot, the pochard, or red- 

 headed diving duck, and the tufted duck, the male of which, by its bright black 

 and white plumage, is very conspicuous. This species is increasing quite as fast 

 in and round London as in the country. It is common on the Serpentine, in 

 St. James's Park, in Wanstead Park, and on the Penn Ponds at Richmond. 

 Three years ago I was invited by the chief engineer of the Middlesex Waterworks 

 to visit the reservoirs at Ranelagh, and there I saw at least seventy tufted ducks 

 which flew about as if on a preserved Norfolk mere. There were also a pair of 

 great erested grebes and many coots. Dabchicks, the smallest of the grebes, 

 breed in St. James's Park, and also at the Penn Ponds and Wanstead. This 

 year there were three broods of small water-hens in the lew yards of running 

 water below the Serpentine." 



Mr. Cornish added that we could not hope to see all kinds of 

 wild birds returning, such as the insect-feeders — among them 

 all the warblers, the nightingale, the whitethroat, the blackcap, 

 and the chiff-chaff. " There is no suitable food for them in the 

 parks, as there are no bushes, undergrowth, and long grass of 

 the kind which harbours their food. The ground in the shrub- 

 beries is dug up, and dug ground is hopeless for them. One of 

 the few places where the small warblers are found is Chiswick 

 Eyot, where this summer the whitethroat, reed warbler, and 

 sedge warbler all nested. It is to be hoped that this eyot, with 

 its fine osiers, will never be built upon. Flocks of peewits come 

 into the market gardens near Chiswick, and have greatly 

 increased since the protecting Act was passed." 



FISHES. 



Salmon near Southend. — In the Daily Mail of June 3rd, 

 1905, it is noted that a " report has been received by the City of 

 London Piscatorial Society from a member residing at Leigh to 

 the effect that a small salmon has been captured off the Knock 

 Buoy, Southend. The fish, it is stated, was about eighteen 

 inches in length." 



Dr. Laver says that salmon are still taken in nets on 

 various parts of the coast, and that few years pass without 



