LONDON BIRDS 29 



So far as could be learnt, from inquiries made in 

 different quarters, there was no reason to think that 

 there had been any general diminution in the stock. 

 But the birds wandered less than usual because and 

 in this lies the interest of the story the crop of beech 

 masts and acorns, and presumably of other wild fruits 

 and edible seeds, was almost everywhere throughout 

 the country abnormally heavy. They found, for once 

 in a way, food enough to satisfy them at their doors, 

 and, in spite of long-established custom, were glad to 

 stay at home instead of facing the dangers and discom- 

 forts of travel. Their action is another small proof, if 

 any is needed, that, however influenced by ' meteoro- 

 logical conditions ' and other causes, the main motive- 

 power of all migration is need for food. 



It was because there was 'no corn in the land' of 

 Canaan that Jacob and his family went down to Egypt. 



The fame of the London Wood Pigeons has crossed 

 the Atlantic. An application was received at the Office 

 of Works a few years ago for some pairs of the ' Great 

 Russian Wood Doves' from St. James's Park, for 

 acclimatisation experiment in the United States. 



In our complex civilisation dangers to life and health 

 crop up in such unexpected quarters that it is difficult 

 to say where safety lies. Perhaps, though, the last of 

 our London neighbours whom we should be inclined to 

 suspect of dangerous proclivities would be the master- 

 less Pigeons, which swarm in all directions. 



But a man may smile and be a villain, and birds are, 

 apparently, no more to be trusted than men. 



