ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM A SOUTH LONDON SUBURB. 
and April, pairs are to be found underneath the trees, search- 
ing for fallen seed; at this time they are very tame, and if 
disturbed will soon return, the male bird showing nesting tend- 
encies by the frequent utterance of his yet imperfect song. In 
1876, from July 20th to August 8th, a pair frequented my 
garden and began to build in a thick pear tree, but, being 
pestered by cats, relinquished their plan, much to my disap- 
pointment. In the autumn of 1870, I saw three birds in the 
solitary alder in Brixton Churchyard, and single birds, in the 
later months of the year, are often attracted by the inhabit- 
ants of my aviary, on which they have several times been 
captured. 
SKYLARK. 
A few pairs still breed in Dulwich Meadows, the nearest 
suitable ground we have at the present day. The song may 
be heard as early as February, if mild; but scarcely with any 
regularity before the end of March; it is continued throughout 
the summer, but becomes less frequent in July. In August 
and September it is heard perhaps less than at any other time 
of year, for on any fine day in autumn or winter the bird may 
delight us with its song, though a short and imperfect one, and 
with the accompanying “rise” feeble compared with the sum- 
mer effort. 
The autumn migration is always observable, though in very 
fluctuating or uncertain nmbers; in some years only a few 
stragglers, and in others innumerable flocks. The beginning 
of the movement is shown by the appearance in the early morn- 
ings of September of a few solitary examples moving in various 
directions—this being probably the partial migration of home- 
bred birds;. but by the end of the first week in October the 
passage of large flocks of foreigners occurs — most marked 
when the suitable W. or N.W. wind is blowing — their most 
usual direction being S. of W., thus differing slightly from the 
more westerly point to which other species are at the same 
time making ther way. With Larks, the migration is usually 
over by the third week in October—any later passage being 
of rare occurrence. The years 1888, 1891, and 1892 were 
noteworthy, not only for the immense numbers but for the size 
of the flocks — often containing fifty to seventy birds — that 
passed almost daily for a fortnight or so in the middle of that 
month. In 1888 this great passage followed a few days of 
N.W. wind, and that or a directly westerly breeze continued 
throughout the movement. In 1801 the wind was generally 
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