THE REDBREAST. 



(Nov. 17, 1888.) 



PROBABLY no bird is better known than the Red- 

 breast, yet we doubt if there are not thousands of 

 Londoners, even amongst those who should know 

 better, who would be surprised to hear that it is by 

 no means the rarest of the birds of London. It 

 does not, of course, frequent the streets ; but in the 

 parks, and wherever there are trees and gardens, it 

 may be found penetrating, especially in the winter, 

 in considerable numbers into the inner suburbs. 

 Kensington Gardens is one of its favourite haunts, 

 and there it may be seen at any time of the year ; 

 it is also fond of the shrubberies in St. James's 

 Park. Many birds possess, and are ordinarily 

 called by, human names. " Mag " pie, " Jack " 

 daw, " Tom " tit, are familiar instances among 

 others which will occur to everyone ; but " Robin " 

 Redbreast stands alone, so far as we are aware, as 

 the bird which may be said to have dropped its 

 proper name, and to be generally known by its 

 prefix, as most people apparently think that " Red- 

 breast " is nothing more than a pet name, and that 

 the bird should be known as the " Robin." 



Robin Redbreast is an amusingly impudent bird, 



