THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 
and the most elementary facts concerning food, migra- 
tion, and so forth are woefully inaccurate. So far as 
London is concerned, there are plenty of common birds 
found in the vicinity of most of the Council schools 
which might and should serve as object-lessons and as 
capital examples for teaching the rudiments of ornitho- 
logy. ‘The opportunity in most cases is lost. At the 
end of the present chapter I propose to offer a few 
suggestions for the “‘ Nature-study ” of birds in the 
London schools. 
The Bird-life of London presents a most fascinating 
study to any one who cares to pursue it. A lifetime 
among the birds may be profitably spent well within the 
fifteen-mile radius. Not only do the residents and 
regular migrants offer scope for endless study, but the 
casual visitors are a source of great interest in themselves. 
Migration, that fascinating drama of the air, may be 
investigated with profit. ‘The study of birds within the 
Metropolis offers a field of research absolutely denied to 
the ornithologist in more rural surroundings. ‘This is in 
relation to the ways of birds under more or less abnormal 
conditions, which illustrate in a wonderful manner their 
adaptability to novel circumstances. Some species, as 
we know, have been banished from London; others, 
more adaptable, have maintained their existence through 
the changing years ; others yet again have even invaded 
the Great City and established themselves in a most 
remarkable way. As time goes on there seems to be 
every probability that more species will also succeed in 
doing so. ‘Time was, as we know by old records, when the 
Kite was almost as familiar in London’s streets as the 
Sparrow is now, and the work of the modern scavenger 
was largely left to this useful species, as it is to-day in 
many Southern towns. ‘The Swifts used to circle and 
glide over what are now the densest parts of the city ; 
the Martins and Swallows used to thread the narrow 
2 
