Bird-Life in London. 253 



being in many cases,, no doubt, accountable for 

 their appearance. A winter or two ago we saw 

 one which had been captured, apparently unin- 

 jured, in Kensington High-street. Unfortunately 

 the captor was no naturalist, and imagined that, as 

 his prisoner was a bird, it must necessarily feed on 

 " bird-seed," and consequently its life in captivity 

 was but a short one. 



Among birds one would hardly expect to find 

 nesting in town may be mentioned a pair of crows 

 which have long made their home in Kensington 

 Gardens. We have not seen their nest this year, 

 but understand on the best authority that it exists. 

 Still more extraordinary is the fact that a pair 

 of magpies are nesting in Regent's Park. A bird 

 doubtless one of the pair in question has been 

 about town all the winter, and for some time could 

 often be seen in one of the large inclosures in 

 St. James's Park, where it appeared to be quite at 

 home and at its ease. If it had ever been in 

 captivity, it had certainly moulted after it regained 

 its freedom, as its plumage had all the appearance 

 of that of a wild bird. If, as is most likely, this is 

 one of the nesting pair, it no doubt left town in 

 search of a mate, and only returned as far as the 

 Regent's Park, where, owing to the proximity of 

 the Zoological Gardens^ it found food abundant. 



Before concluding these somewhat discursive 

 remarks, we would draw attention to a mixed 

 colony of birds which are, many of them, Londoners 

 perforce we refer to the waterfowl in the several 



