ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM A SOUTH LONDON SUBURB. 
GREY WAG-TAIL. 
This might be called a bird of the past so far as this dis 
trict is concerned; but in the seventies—viz., from 1874 to 
1878—examples were yearly seen passing over my garden in 
September at their usual time of arrival in the S.E. counties , 
in those years, also, I could always find one at a certain “ black- 
mud” ditch near Herne Hill in the early winter months. Three 
times I have noted the bird by the lake-side in Battersea Park, 
and have also met with it on Mitcham Common and by the 
pond-side at Tooting. This last was in 1900, on the 5th Sep- 
tember—an early date for it in the south; it is also the last 
record I have for the suburb. 
MARSH TIT. 
This is the rarest of the Tits with us, yet a few examples 
appear yearly in the suburban gardens during the month of 
October, associating with other species in overhauling the sun- 
flower heads and such-like attractions. Less frequently has 
the bird appeared in the spring, although of late years I have 
observed it at the end of March or early April in Dulwich 
Wood. Here, moreover, I have detected examples, both in 
1904 and 1905, in the month of July; so that in all probability 
it nested in the immediate neighbourhood in those two years. 
LONG-TAILED TIT. 
These birds, until 1889, were to be seen passing through 
the suburban gardens, in small parties, in October or Novem- 
ber during the regular migration of the tribe; now such a 
pleasing sight is a thing of the past. All recent records have 
been in spring—formerly a very rare event—and three times 
during the last five years I have seen pairs in the month of 
April; some few may, therefore, nest in the district. 
KINGFISHER. 
Until the year 1898, I had only once seen this bird here, 
an example crossing Brixton Road just in front of me on the 
oth September, 1885; yet between 1898 and 1902 I find re- 
cords of several occurrences at the lake in Dulwich Park in the 
months of September and October; also once seen by the lake 
on Tooting Common, October 7th, 1899. These birds, 
though, are now rarely seen in Dulwich Park, for, with the 
installation of boats on the lake, the quiet of the place has 
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