PREFACE 



THE opening chapter contains, by way of intro- 

 duction, all that need be said concerning the 

 object and scope of this work ; it remains to 

 say here that, as my 'aim has been to furnish an 

 account of the London wild bird life of to-day, 

 there was little help to be had from the writings 

 of previous observers. These mostly deal with 

 the central parks, and are interesting now, 

 mainly, as showing the changes that have taken 

 place. At the end of the volume a list will- be 

 found of the papers and books on the subject 

 which are known to me. This list will strike 

 many readers as an exceedingly meagre one, 

 when it is remembered that London has always 

 been a home of ornithologists that from the 

 days of Oliver Goldsmith, who wrote pleasantly 



