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Mr. Allen Silver,



BIRDS IN LONDON AND SUBURBIA.


By Allen Silver.


In more remote times, before the Metropolis had spread out

its octopus-like arms and had included so many places that were

quite within recent times more or less villages on its outskirts, the

area just outside London proper must have been a very good bird

district, at any rate in as far as perching birds were concerned, and

we know well from our elderly aviculturist friends whose lives have

been spent near its precincts that many species were regular

breeders.


Necessary alteration of conditions and town planning have, of

course, made permanent quarters impossible; but even now an

observant person can see that they are not driven so far from their

old lines of flight, except where factories and chimney-pots are so

numerous as to cause them to “ scurry ” by until a convenient

halting spot or garden presents itself. In one or two old-world spots

even to-day surprises occur, but here I propose to deal with incidents

that have occurred to my knowledge during the last ten years. One

must, of course, eliminate such species as the House Sparrow,

Starling, Redbreast, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird,

Thrush, Rook, and Hedge Accentor, which present themselves on all

possible occasions in inner suburbia, and, of course, exclude places

like Wimbledon Common, where the Nightingale comes regularly and

the Lesser redpoll breeds, or places like Highgate Woods, but

rather keep to those places where bustle is not infrequent and where

tram-cars and motor-buses and a fairly thick population may be

common features, and yet where a few old houses with large gardens

still exist, and perhaps a decent open space or two. It would not be

fair to include outlying places on the District or Bakerloo Railways,

where so many open spots still abound, but confine oneself well within

the suburban mark proper, eliminating all spots down the river below

Richmond or Isleworth. One need not mention Black-headed gulls,

which are as frequent in winter on Clapham and Wandsworth

Commons near water as to be outside the scope, or Mallard or

Water-hens, which thrive on municipal waters, but confine oneself

rather to small and less conspicuous species. I am not going to



