Oxford: Autumn and Winter. 



the rod has given way to a field-glass, and the 

 passion for killing has been displaced by a desire 

 to see and know ; a revolution which I consider 

 has been beneficial, not only to the trout, but to 

 myself. In the peaceful study of birds I have 

 found an occupation which exactly falls in with 

 the habit I had formed for it is in the early 

 morning that birds are most active and least dis- 

 turbed by human beings ; an occupation too which 

 can be carried on at all times of the day in Oxford 

 with much greater success than I could possibly 

 have imagined when I began it. Even for one 

 who has not often time or strength to take long 

 rambles in the country round us, it is astonishing 

 how much of the beauty, the habits, and the songs 

 of birds may be learnt within the city itself, or in 

 its immediate precincts. 



The fact is, that for several obvious reasons, 

 Oxford is almost a Paradise of birds. All the 

 conditions of the neighbourhood, as it is now, are 

 favourable to them. The three chief requisites 

 of the life of most birds are food, water, and some 

 kind of cover. For food, be they insect-eaters, 

 or grub-eaters, they need never lack near Oxford. 



