THE BIRDS OF LONDON 177 



out of town in August and took to the corn-fields. 

 Some of the sparrows in the outskirts of the city may 

 do this, but it cannot be true of the London sparrow 

 proper, for he has no reason to migrate, and he is 

 certainly never absent from his usual haunts. Did 

 the London sparrow take it into his head to strike 

 wing for the country it would be a vast exodus 

 and the Kentish farmer might almost as hopefully 

 prepare for a flight of locusts. 



The song thrush and the blackbird are still visitors 

 to the open spaces and private gardens in suburban 

 London. The thrush may occasionally be both seen 

 and heard in Kensington Gardens and Regent's 

 Park, especially in the early morning. The thrush, 

 though a shy bird, loves the earthworm, and he likes 

 to hunt it amongst the short grass or under the 

 fallen leaves, one reason doubtless why he still finds 

 so many spots which suit him in and about London. 

 It would be hard to find earthworms anywhere so 

 plentiful as they are in many of the open spaces in 

 London. Whether this is the result of abundant 

 food and a favourable soil, or of the absence of the 

 enemies which keep them in check, or of the great 

 age of the turf, which is not broken up from time to 

 time as it would be if under cultivation, it is difficult 

 to say. Probably all three conditions have some- 

 thing to do with it. Kensington Gardens in parti- 

 cular is at the present time a splendid hunting 

 ground ; all through last winter, even in frosty 

 weather, I was able to get a constant supply there 

 for some frogs with no further aid than the point 

 of my umbrella. 



The starling is another bird which hunts the 

 earthworm and which is occasionally to be seen on 



12 



