Oxford: Autumn and Winter. 



some of the most interesting species that meet 

 the eye or ear of a stroller within the precincts 

 of the city. And with this object before me, it 

 will be convenient, I think, to separate winter 

 and summer, counting as winter the whole period 

 from October to March, and as summer the warm 

 season from our return to Oxford in April up to 

 the heart of the Long Vacation ; and we will 

 begin with the beginning of the University year, 

 by which plan we shall gain the advantage of 

 having to deal with a few birds only to start with, 

 and those obvious to the eye among leafless 

 branches, thus clearing the way for more difficult 

 observation of the summer migrants, which have 

 to be detected among all the luxuriousness of our 

 Oxford foliage. 



I shall call the birds by their familiar English 

 names, wherever it is possible to do so without 

 danger of confounding species ; but for accuracy's 

 sake, a list of all birds noticed in these pages, 

 with their scientific names according to the best, 

 or at any rate the latest, terminology, will be given 

 in an appendix. 



When we return to Oxford after our Long 



