28 London Birds. 



usual as he looked at their white breasts glancing in 

 the sunshine. The tame Herring Gulls breed freely 

 in St. James's Park. 



On the 30th May, 1888, a Cormorant in full breed- 

 ing plumage white patches on cheek and thigh 

 appeared unexpectedly on the water in St. James's 

 Park. He was first noticed by the keeper at half- 

 past eight in the morning, and was tame and hungry 

 enough to accept from him a couple of herrings for 

 breakfast. A bird of the same species, no doubt the 

 same, was seen a few days later on the Serpentine, 

 and again flying over Lord's Cricket Ground in a 

 northerly direction. " The bird," wrote Sir Ralph 

 Payne-Galway, who recorded its last appearance in 

 the Times, " flew fairly low, but owing, I presume, to 

 Mr. Bonnor having just put a ball into the Pavilion, 

 it escaped notice as far as I could judge, though it is 

 true I heard one gentleman remark * there goes a 

 wild Duck.'" 



Three Cormorants since imported from the Fame 

 Islands have done well in St. James's Park, but 

 have never yet bred or shewn any signs of an 

 intention to breed. Some Guillemots and Puffins 

 were brought at the same time, but, owing to 

 the difficulty in procuring natural food, did not live 

 long. 



Of the last family of all, the Shortwings the con- 

 necting link between birds and fishes we have at 

 times plenty of a single species, the little Grebe, 

 " Dabchicks," lively little fellows, the quickest and 

 best, perhaps, of our English divers, as much at 

 home at the bottom as above the water. Of late 

 years they have not been coming in such flocks 

 as formerly, but in 1870 there were often as many 

 as one hundred of them at once on the Round 



